Thailand asks Facebook to delete content offensive to monarchy

Sounds like the end of "Freedom of Speech"

Governments can be toppled using social networking. I guess the Monarchy doesn't want that to happen.

Moderation and censorship is always about control and money. The people will get used to it seems to be the order of the day. If in fact there are more than 10,000 pages that express discontent with "The Man" then maybe it's time to step down.

People were not happy with how the government handled the flooding. It would appear that they flocked to Facebook to express their discontent.

You should all remember that it wasn't too long ago that people were protesting in Thailand. Shutting down airports as well. When the floods came perhaps the people felt that they were punished by their government based on their inaction. It certainly looked like Katrina to me.

@NetNinja

We aren't too far behind here in Japan

Japan is nowhere near the same as Thailand.

NetNinja:

" Governments can be toppled using social networking. I guess the Monarchy doesn't want that to happen. "

With all respect, you don´t know what you are talking about here. The respect for the king is deeply ingrained in Thai culture, and it is not artifially enforced. You try to insult the king in front of the locals when no law enforcement is near, and see what happens to you. This is an issue specific to Thailand, and not some kind of grand political platform you can climb on.

In the event, I hope that facebook does not relent. If the bow to these demands, there is no end to demands from others which will follow.

I'M Thai ,I know you all maybe don't understand Thai culture but this topic be delicate for Thais'mind We don't want anyone talk or write about our King not right,unreasonable and I want to say almost 65 millions Thai people here in Thailand Love and respect our His Majesty The KING and Dynasty they are always in our heart.We can spend our life usually , freedom , calmly,sufficiently, you can do everything in Thailand ,Speech and Writing as well. You can do it under law(Criminal law section 112) .No one here in Thailand resist that law except The Communist who want to change Thailand.(We known them) :: ทรงพระเจริญ LONG LIVE H.M.KING

Just shut the whole thing down. It is a waste of time anyway. Meet real people, not have hundreds of fake cyber friends.

Thai government got the idea from Obama's handlers?

Pretty weak when a royal family or government cant handle a bit of critisism. I guess it just goes to show how superficial and weak they are when they cant stand someone saying something negative about them without throwing them in jail or demanding sites be removed. Maybe its time the old king moved on afterall he is the richest person in Thailand and the richest royal in the world. I guess money can buy you anything (silencing anyone critical of you)

Spidapig24:

" Pretty weak when a royal family or government cant handle a bit of critisism. "

It is not the royal family who enforces this. Lots of people here are making assumptions about another culture without having learned about it.

WilliB,

" Pretty weak when a royal family or government cant handle a bit of critisism. " It is not the royal family who enforces this. Lots of people here are making assumptions about another culture without having learned about it.

Wow, making assumptions without having learned about it hey. Maybe you should reread what l posted l said the royal family AND GOVERNMENT. Who passes the laws, l will give you a hint its an institution called the government and l believe l did mention them if you read what l wrote. By the way maybe the king didnt directly bring in the law but considering the power he holds in the country can you say for certain he didnt or at least his supporters in positions of power didnt?

Reformed Basher, care to clarify what you said here?

@NetNinja

We aren't too far behind here in Japan

Japan is nowhere near the same as Thailand.

To be perfectly honest, I don't know what to think. So is Thailand better or worse off? As for the attacks back at me. I forgive you cause I'm assuming that you did not recognize that I used speculative terminology in my post.

Words like: I guess It would appear If in fact

I'm not trying to bash your King. I don't even know the guy. It's not my beef. However I will say this. "Freedom of Speech" is a core value of those that come from Democratic societies. I get upset when my posts on this website get deleted. Everybody wants to express themselves.

I would tell you that is unwise to criticize some people. I wouldn't tell a KKK member to go down to Harlem with a megaphone spewing venom in his words. That's just plain dangerous. However, as much as I don't like what he has to say, I have no right to blow that guy away just cause I didn't like what he had to say. I can't put a muzzle on him.

Sometimes people get slandered. If what they say about someone isn't true, then you go after them. If what they say is true and you go after them, that might be censorship. If it's just opinion and they clearly state it's opinion with their own examples to support their ideas, that is their right.

The Internet is powerful tool. It was created in the U.S. It is used for a number of things. Of course the day is coming when Politics and Corporations will have enough mechanisms in place to control what is said and done.

It's happening right now. Read about S.O.P.A.

Facebook was created by an American. It belongs to us. A free democracy. You don't have to join it and you don't have to read it. If the King doesn't like it. He can just block it like China does.

Or how about this, just pull the plug that connects your country to the Internet and start your own if you don't like it. I expect no one to sacrifice their freedom of speech for anyone or anything.

Truth be told. I had no opinion of your King until this article came up. Guess how I feel now?

Spidapig24:

" By the way maybe the king didnt directly bring in the law but considering the power he holds in the country can you say for certain he didnt or at least his supporters in positions of power didnt? " "His supporters" in the Thai context would include practically the entire population. The King does not need interfere in day to day politics. In the rare occasions that he does, his word is enourmously respected by everyone, so he does that very sparingly.

Instead of projecting pre-conceived ideas on the country, you might want to live there yourself for a while. That would be an eye-opener.

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WilliB corrected

Spidapig24:

" By the way maybe the king didnt directly bring in the law but considering the power he holds in the country can you say for certain he didnt or at least his supporters in positions of power didnt? "

His supporters" in the Thai context would include practically the entire population. The King does not need to interfere in day to day politics. On the rare occasions that he does, his word is enourmously respected by everyone, so he uses that power very sparingly.

Instead of projecting pre-conceived ideas on Thailand, you might want to live there yourself for a while. That would be an eye-opener.

WilliB,

Oh I'm projecting my ill conceived ideas hey, this from a person that made that wonderful statement about the poor woman who lost her babies. Pot meet kettle.

As for living in Thailand no thank you l have been there enough to realize that I wouldn't want to do that. Funny apart from the personal attack you have offered nothing to rebut my statement so l can't be that far off the ark as you allude to.

Above, we can read:

"The respect for the king is deeply ingrained in Thai culture, and it is not artifially enforced."

"We don't want anyone talk or write about our King not right,unreasonable and I want to say almost 65 millions Thai people here in Thailand Love and respect our His Majesty The KING and Dynasty they are always in our heart."

If the Thai monarchy were universally respected there would be no need for the lese majeste law as nobody would insult the royal family.

The fact that people do insult the Thai royal family proves that they are not universally respected and that some part of the Thai population is critical of them. I suggest that there would be far more criticism if people were not cowed into silence by the threat of ludicrously long prison sentences.

It's time for Thailand to do away with these antiquated laws and let people speak their mind. I understand that the current king is indeed widely respected, but the next in line isn't. Is Thailand a free country, or a backwards, feudal dump?

Every culture has a taboo or hysteria its utterly nuts about, even yours. With Thailand its doing or saying anything offensive to the monarchy, and as with any taboo or hysteria that keeps getting generating crap storms, what exactly that means is criminally ill defined and also criminally randomly applied, and again, its not just Thailand.

This taboo is, for some, a completely knee-jerk response in people indoctrinated in this sillyness from birth. And like a majority of humans, they just don't have the brains or willpower to straighten themselves out. In fact, some of them revel in the utter ridiculousness of it all in a "Ha ha! I made you blink!" sort of fashion. Just how preposterous this whole thing is has been voiced by the King himself, who said "...if you say the king cannot be criticised, it means that the king is not human", he said. "If the king can do no wrong, it is akin to looking down upon him because the king is not being treated as a human being. But the king can do wrong."

So he criticized himself, but he wasn't arrested. In his view, practically all of Thailand insults him, but they don't stop doing it and they don't get arrested. And he has pardoned lots of people regarding this law, which got to be this stupid in the 1970s by a Royalist Premier.

But something you must understand is that its not just a mindless taboo of idiots insulting the very King they seek to adore. Its also a calculated political tool of the Royalists who use it to get members of their opposition arrested while maintaining a state of fear. And I say this again, its not only Thailand with this sort of silly crap going on.

Those of you thinking bad of the King should rethink your positions. I have nothing but respect for him, for what he has said and done. And until some real proof is given to me, I declare all bad things said about him here to be nothing pure childish spite.

Scrote:

" I understand that the current king is indeed widely respected, but the next in line isn't. Is Thailand a free country, or a backwards, feudal dump? "

You are currect that the current successor in line for the throne is not widely respected. And that is why he will probably bypassed. If you have Thai friends and get to know them, you can hear plenty about that.

But is it really so desirable to change a society that is otherwise doing fine into the image of your own? Would Thailand really be better if it had running royal soap opera like the UK or a permanent mud-slinging feast like US politics as the only thing for people to unite them?

What happened to all these noble ideas of respecting other cultures?

Again, as I said already, I am of course against the censorship of facebook. Let the Thai government block the site locally if they want.

zichi:

" But you don't do that with Islam? Selective cultures then? " What, so the ideology of islam must not be criticized, but Thai culture can be lambasted? That is something for you to explain.

Since you mention it, the one area where you can be sure that the Thai King (and Buddhism, and Thai culture as we know it) is not respected are the restive southern provinces of Naravat and Patani, where the islamists routinely commit terror attacks against Thai institutions and Buddhist monestaries. Are those the people you root for?

Can't possibly compliment nor insult any Royalties since none of them ever invited me for dinner.............................

@NetNinja

I'm not attacking you. But I don't think Japan is the same as Thailand.