A new kind of SIM card for foreign tourists will be proposed that makes them more traceable while they are visiting Thailand.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will propose the adoption of these SIMs to the telecommunication committee as a matter of national security.
NBTC secretary-general Thakorn Tanthasit said that, while foreign tourists are required to provide immigration officials with their address while staying in Thailand, the SIM card will mean they can easily be found if they commit a crime, reported Thai PBS.
After all, foreign tourists can write whatever they like on those immigration cards, no one checks to see if they are actually staying at those addresses.
It may seem like an invasion of privacy, but Thakorn called it an issue of national security.
Though the government only mentioned the benefit of being able to find foreigners who commit crimes via their SIM cards, this would also have the added benefit of locating foreigners that become lost, such as the girl recently lost during a walk in the Chiang Mai woods, the missing Polish couple lost in Khao Yai, and Hannah Davies, the young British tourist that disappeared after leaving disturbing messages for her family.
Thai people aren’t required to use these traceable SIM cards but are required to show ID cards when buying SIM cards.
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