Thai reform body suggests tight regulations on social media

A policy-writing body advising Thailand's military government has suggested imposing stringent restrictions on internet usage, intended in part to identify the posters of all content on services such as Facebook and YouTube.

The government's National News Bureau reported Tuesday that the National Reform Steering Assembly voted 144-1 to endorse an 84-page package of measures to regulate production and consumption of internet content, especially social media.

The proposal passed Monday suggests initial steps including requiring that all cellphone numbers be registered with not only Thai users' 13-digit citizen identification numbers—as is already the case— but also their fingerprints and facial recognition data.

Other measures to be taken later include the establishment of a central social media watch center to look for content considered inappropriate by the government.