The ministry planned to block access to more than 100 posts on social media outlets, including YouTube and Twitter, by the end of this week for posting content deemed illegal or improper, according to the DE Deputy Permanent Secretary Somsak Kaosuwan.

Early this month, the authorities issued an ultimatum to many social outlets to block access to hundreds of web pages and URLs featuring “dubious” content.

After Tuesday’s deadline passed, the ministry claimed that all 131 posts on Facebook alone had been blocked in the Kingdom.

A Facebook spokesperson said the company would render the content unavailable in the specific country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted.

The government has blocked at least 6,900 web pages since 2015 deemed to carry illegal or improper content.

“We have had good cooperation from social media companies to close illegal URLs and we are still monitoring to delete illegal web pages,” said Somsak.

The Criminal Court advised the ministry in writing that it was authorised to block web addresses with illegal content without having to seek a court order for every one.

The ministry now plans to issue five announcements that will set guidelines of operation required under the Computer Crime Act which came into full effect on Wednesday.

New ministerial orders involve rules about the data screening committee, spam mail, and data storage. All these orders must be issued by July 23, two months after the Computer Crime Act became effective.