National police chief Somyot Poompunmuang has vowed to prosecute anyone using the internet to reveal police checkpoints, claiming social media is helping criminals escape the law.
Pol Gen Somyot said on Wednesday he had ordered the Technology Crime Suppression Division to track down and take legal action against the owners of any website, Facebook page or social media stream that tips off readers to the locations and operating hours of law-enforcement checkpoints.
"Now there are a lot of such Facebook pages and websites that give information on checkpoints, including those for alcohol tests, security and traffic regulations in every province. Each page has some 100,000 followers," he said.
The operators of some sites claimed they want readers to prepare themselves for checks in advance, which is unnecessary, the police chief said.
The general public need not prepare documents or anything else before stopping at a checkpoint. Honest people do not want this information because they are not trying to evade the law, he said.
"I am saying that pages or websites that post information on checkpoints are in the wrong because they disseminate security-related information in violation of the Computer Crimes Act," the police chief said. "If wrongdoers use the information to avoid checkpoints or arrest, those who give them the information will be considered to be aiding and abetting criminals and will be subject to prosecution."