Thai Facebookers Warned Not to 'Like' Anti-monarchy Groups

THE GUARDIAN: Country's strict laws against insulting the monarch have been used to jail a man for 20 years for sending text messages

A government minister in Thailand has warned Facebook users that anyone pressing the "like" button on posts that might be offensive to the monarchy could be prosecuted under the country's strict lèse-majesté laws.

The warning was given two days after a Thai criminal court sentenced Amphon Tangnoppaku, 61, to 20 years in prison for sending text messages deemed insulting to the country's queen.

Amphon was found guilty on four counts and sentenced to five years' consecutive jail on each charge.

Thailand's laws against lèse-majesté (insulting a monarch) are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal.

A report in the Bangkok Post quoted the information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, saying that anyone who had pressed "like" on items related to lèse-majesté on Facebook should go back and delete all their reactions and comments. Such material could end up being copied by people who set up fake pages to insult the monarchy, he said.

"If they don't delete them, they can end up violating the computer crime act for indirectly distributing inappropriate content," Anudith said. » | Staff and agencies | Friday, November 25, 2011

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Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Insulting Thai Queen by Text Message

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Thailand's criminal court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sending text messages deemed offensive to the country's queen.

The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country's lese majeste [sic] and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years imprisonment for each charge.

Lese majeste [sic] is the crime of insulting a monarch, and Thailand's laws against it are the most severe in the world. Even repeating the details of an alleged offence is illegal. » | Wednesday, November 23, 2011

£9m Firewall to Protect Thai King from Online Detractors
King Bhumipol and Queen Sirikit of Thailand. Photo courtesy of The Guardian
THE GUARDIAN: Not content with lese-majeste laws to protect the revered monarchy that are among the world's most draconian, Thailand is to build a wall around the kingdom to keep out detractors.

But the barrier will be virtual, a national internet firewall to block websites deemed insulting to the throne of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who at 80 is the world's longest serving monarch.

For the princely sum of almost £9m the Thai information ministry will shield the king and his adoring subjects from the sleights – real or perceived – of those who mock online.

Thailand's government, locked in a bitter struggle with staunchly royalist demonstrators who have been on the streets for months, has been accused of harbouring republican tendencies and being hostile to the monarchy.

It refutes the charge, but the move to construct the firewall appears to be the result of pressure from the powerful military and its demand that criticism of the monarchy be stamped out.

The firewall will also give Thailand's bureaucrats the power to block other websites it labels inappropriate, like those run by perceived terrorist groups or showing pornography. But the first target will up to 1,000 websites suspected of carrying material regarded as offensive to the king. >>> Ian MacKinnon in Bangkok | October 30, 2008

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