PHUKET: All of Thailand's government officers in the Interior Ministry will be banned from using Facebook from October 1 in a crackdown on social networks and fun private downloads.
A decree from the ministry's headquarters in Bangkok ordered the Governors of Phuket and all 76 provinces to make staff aware of the ban.
Hundreds of thousands of workers come under various departments that are overseen by the Interior Ministry.
From October 1, access to Facebook and other popular sites ''that have no workplace significance'' will be prohibited between 8.30am and noon and 1pm to 4.30pm.
''The Information Communication Technology Centre has been looking at the issue of workplace practices for eight months,'' said the written edict in the Thai language, signed by Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Terat on Thursday and received by governor's offices in all provinces today.
Interior Ministry staff are also banned from downloading files, movies and music for personal use. The centre appears to have found that personal use of government computers for non-work activities has stressed bandwidth.
Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has a Facebook page with 632,035 people saying - as at 3.49pm today - that they liked her page.
The Ministry of the Interior also has a Facebook page, with just 102 'likes.'
Many local councils on Phuket and throughout Thailand have Facebook pages, along with other official groups.
Ministers in Thailand's government and opposition also are members of Facebook and other social networks, including some better known only in Thailand. Dating sites are also popular.
Facebook, perhaps the world's best-known social networking site on the Internet, went public in a stockmarket listing in the US earlier this year but prices have since gone down.
A decree from the ministry's headquarters in Bangkok ordered the Governors of Phuket and all 76 provinces to make staff aware of the ban.
Hundreds of thousands of workers come under various departments that are overseen by the Interior Ministry.
From October 1, access to Facebook and other popular sites ''that have no workplace significance'' will be prohibited between 8.30am and noon and 1pm to 4.30pm.
''The Information Communication Technology Centre has been looking at the issue of workplace practices for eight months,'' said the written edict in the Thai language, signed by Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Terat on Thursday and received by governor's offices in all provinces today.
Interior Ministry staff are also banned from downloading files, movies and music for personal use. The centre appears to have found that personal use of government computers for non-work activities has stressed bandwidth.
Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, has a Facebook page with 632,035 people saying - as at 3.49pm today - that they liked her page.
The Ministry of the Interior also has a Facebook page, with just 102 'likes.'
Many local councils on Phuket and throughout Thailand have Facebook pages, along with other official groups.
Ministers in Thailand's government and opposition also are members of Facebook and other social networks, including some better known only in Thailand. Dating sites are also popular.
Facebook, perhaps the world's best-known social networking site on the Internet, went public in a stockmarket listing in the US earlier this year but prices have since gone down.
Doesn't make much sense if they are trying to block movie and music downloads. There are a lot worse sites than Facebook for that.
I do agree that Government workers should not have access to sites that do not pertain to their job.
Posted by larry on September 7, 2012 16:08