A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Saturday, May 13, 2017
Thailand gives Facebook 4-day deadline to remove ‘illicit’ pages
THAI authorities have given Facebook until 10am local time next Tuesday
to remove web pages it says violates local laws, failing which legal
action will be taken.
According to news reports, by order of the Thai court, the social media
giant needs to remove a total of 131 pages, some of which are said to
contain posts critical of the monarchy.
“If even a single illicit page remains, we will immediately discuss what legal steps to take against Facebook Thailand,” The Guardian quoted Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, as saying.
Thailand’s strict lese-majeste law makes it illegal to insult any member
of the royal family, with those convicted facing a maximum prison
sentence of 15 years.
The commission confirmed that of the 309 pages identified by Thai courts
as necessary for removal, Facebook has already restricted access to 178
of them.
There remaining 131 pages, however, are still accessible.
According to the Bangkok Post, Facebook has not explained why this is so.
The daily said, however, that if the government were to take action
against Facebook, it would first have to ensure that Facebook Thailand
is a full branch office of the parent company Facebook Inc.
“If Facebook Thailand was registered as a separate entity, it cannot be sued since it has no power to control illegal [Facebook] content,” said Dhiraphol Suwanprateep, partner for information technology and communications at law firm, Baker & McKenzie Ltd, told the Bangkok Post.
Dhiraphol added that the government would also find it difficult to
sue Thailand’s Internet Service Providers as they were not the ones who
posted the offending content.
“It can only press charges against the ISPs as supporters if it has proof they have ignored [orders] to remove the illegal content,”the lawyer said.
The move to censor Facebook follows the Junta government’s recent ban on
all online interactions with three prominent and outspoken overseas
critics of the monarchy.
In early April, Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry
threatened prosecution against those who engage in any form of online
interaction with historian Somsak Jeamteerasakul, journalist and author
Andrew MacGregor Marshall, and former diplomat Pavin Chachavalpongpun.
The warning stated that anyone who follows, contacts or shares posts
online with the three, be it “directly or indirectly”, would be
prosecuted under the Computer Crimes Act.
“Members of the public are asked to refrain from following, contacting,
spreading or engaging in any activity that results in spreading content
and information of the persons mentioned in this announcement on the
Internet system, social media; either directly or indirectly,”Khaosod English quoted the ministry’s statement.
The news outlet, however, reported that the order did not cite any legal basis.
Over 100 people have been charged with lese-majeste since Thailand’s
military coup in 2014, seven of whom were detained just last month. Some
of the recent arrests have been linked to social media posts.