SIM card idea sends wrong message to tourists
Last week the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) announced that tourists will have to carry special SIM cards so that their whereabouts are traceable.
However, as a matter of national security, this can only be implemented after approval by the prime minister and the Cabinet.
In fact, traceable SIM cards for tourists is not a sensible idea, but rather a waste of resources. It is an absolute violation of people’s rights to privacy and freedom. It also sends the completely wrong message to potential visitors and residents – that, whoever you are, you are under suspicion.
The government already knows the whereabouts of visitors, since hotels, resorts and guesthouses must promptly report the registration of every guest to the police. Foreigners with long-stay visas must also declare their address to immigration authorities every 90 days.
So what purpose would the SIM cards serve? And does the NBTC really think that any would-be criminal, Thai or foreigner, would carry a phone with a traceable SIM card? The only benefit here would be for the telecommunications companies. Little wonder there was no sign of opposition from them.
Even before the SIM card announcement, and for reasons we all know, Thailand’s image was not the best. All this idea did was bring yet another round of negative publicity in the international press and social media, something we could definitely do without – and we most definitely need to address.
Dusit Thammaraks
