Self-censorship
Self-censorship has a long tradition in Thailand. It is used mostly out of fears of charges of lèse majesté.
Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been repeatedly accused of using his political and economic power to silence dissenting voices and curbing freedom of speech based on the fact that he has direct authority over the state-owned TV stations while his family controls the other broadcast TV channels. However, responding to critics, he sold all of his family's interests in the broadcast media in 2006.
The allegations range from the frequent use of libel suits against critics to coercion into self-censorship. Self-censorship has been used as an excuse for the central government or administrative branch to interfere in people's communication sphere. Noted however, that all the radio and television stations in Thailand belong to government or government agencies.
In 2003, the Thai Journalists Association (TJA) rapped the spread of self-censorship as well as the "sophisticated and subversive means" used by the authorities to control the media, fearing it could turn into propaganda mouthpieces of the Thaksin government. On the occasion of the World Press Freedom Day 2006, the TJA's labeled the situation of press freedom in Thailand as an "era of fear and hatred".
Read more about this topic: Censorship In Thailand