Thailand’s 33 million LINE users are monitored by the government

ICT Minister Pornchai Rujiprapa at a press conference yesterday said Thai authorities “can monitor all of the nearly 40 million Line messages sent by people in Thailand each day,” according to The Nation. The minister said citizens can lodge complaints with police if they receive messages that “offend the monarchy and threaten national security.” Thailand has about 33 million Line users, he said, in a country with a population of 67 million.

The parent company of the Line (035420) mobile-chat application denied press reports in Thailand that the military government is monitoring messages sent through the service. “No monitoring by the Thailand government has been conducted,” Nam Ji Woong, a spokesman for South Korea-based Naver Corp., which owns Line Corp., said by e-mail today. “Line considers consumers’ privacy as a top priority.” The government was monitoring more than 40 million messages sent via Line each day, Khaosod newspaper reported, citing Pornchai Rujiprapa, Thailand’s minister of information, communication, and technology. Pornchai said the ministry could see what messages were being forwarded and was focusing on those deemed libelous, anti-monarchy or threatening national security, the report said.