Thai government threatens legal action against Facebook over posts criticising monarchy
- Protests demanding democratic reform, new elections and measures to reduce the influence of Thailand’s king have been gaining momentum
- Thailand has strict lèse-majesté laws criminalising insults against top members of the royal family, which have resulted in lengthy jail sentences
Digital Economy Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta ordered authorities to identify “inappropriate” material and singled out 114 posts mostly made to Facebook but also Twitter and YouTube that may be in breach of the Computer Crimes Act.
“All evidence will be gathered and submitted to court tomorrow,” he wrote on Facebook late on Tuesday. “Once the court has issued an order, it will be forwarded to the three platforms. If within 15 days, the accounts are not closed or posts deleted, we’ll immediately take legal action.”
Facebook, Twitter and Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anon Chawalawan from legal think tank iLaw said the Thai government has sought cooperation from Facebook to remove posts before. However, legal action has in the past targeted users rather than the platform.
“Facebook is a service provider so it can consider the government requests in accordance with international guidelines on content deemed as hate speech or instigating violence, “ Anon said.
“It might be that there is a higher level of political content currently, so the government threatens legal actions against the companies, though there can be repercussions involving regulations on international businesses, for example.”
As a result of the protests, investor confidence in Thailand’s capital markets over the next three months dropped. The political turbulence has increased the pressure on the government as policy makers struggle to revive an economy as the coronavirus pandemic paralyses tourism and consumption.
The Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations said its July survey showed the investor confidence index fell to 85.26 from 101.19 the previous month.
“The main reason was politics. It’s the first time in months that political factors took the spotlight and played a role in investment,” chairman Paiboon Nalinthrangkurn said.
The Thai stock index has fallen by 15 per cent so far this year, with foreign investors dumping 231 billion baht of shares.
In a cabinet shake-up, banking executive Predee Daochai was picked as finance minister and tasked with pulling Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy out of its slump. The finance ministry expects the economy to shrink 8.5 per cent this year, although the government has introduced stimulus measures, including a 1.9 trillion baht package.
Additional reporting by Reuters
