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BANGKOK: Thailand’s digital ministry said on Wednesday (September 23) that it would initiate legal action against Facebook, Twitter and Google this week for ignoring some requests to remove content, in what would be the first such cases in the country against major Internet companies.
The ministry would file complaints with the cybercrime police on Thursday after US companies missed deadlines to fully comply with takedown orders issued by the courts, said digital minister Puttipong Punnakanta.
“We have notified the companies and sent them warnings twice, but they have not complied with all the requests,” Puttipong told Reuters.
It did not disclose details about the content or the laws it had violated. Representatives for the three companies were not immediately available for comment.
The ministry will also file separate complaints against 10 people it said criticized the monarchy in social media posts during a major anti-government rally over the weekend, it said.
READ: After the blockade, the new Facebook group criticizing the Thai king gains 500,000 members
Thailand has a harsh lese majesty law that prohibits insulting the monarchy. The Cybercrime Act, which prohibits the uploading of information that is false or affects national security, has also been used to process online criticism of the royal family.
In recent years, authorities have filed court orders with requests to social media platforms to restrict or remove actual perceived insults and illegal content such as gambling or copyright violations.
Under the law, ignoring a court order can result in a fine of up to 200,000 baht (US $ 6,347), then 5,000 baht per day until the order is enforced.
The ministry asked Facebook on Aug. 27 to block 661 posts, but removed less than a third of them, Puttipong said.
LEE: Facebook says plans to challenge the Thai government’s demand to block the group critical of the monarchy
Alphabet-owned Twitter and YouTube received requests that same day to restrict dozens of posts, but have not acted on all of them, he said.
Last month, Facebook blocked access within Thailand to a group with a million members that spoke of the monarchy, saying it was forced to do so after Puttipong threatened legal action against its local office.
