Thailand welcomes Twitter’s new censorship policy

This screen shot shows a portion of the Twitter blog post of Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, in which the company announced it has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. AP/Twitter

BANGKOK — Thailand is welcoming Twitter’s new policy to censor tweets in specific nations where the content might break laws.

Technology minister Anudith Nakornthap said Monday the new policy was a “constructive” development. The Southeast Asian country routinely blocks websites with content deemed offensive to the Thai monarchy.

Anudith said it was good that Twitter “felt responsible to cooperate with governments to make sure basic rights are not violated through the use of social media.”

Thailand’s taskforce that monitors anti-monarchy content has blocked 1,156 websites since December.

Twitter has been a tool of free speech and dissent around the world and its policy change last week ignited global outrage. The U.S. State Department credited Twitter with being upfront about the policy but reserved comment otherwise.