The company has planned to take legal action against the Government of Thailand after being ‘compelled’ to block 1 million Thai users who were a part of a group criticizing Maha Vajiralongkorn, the king of Thailand.
According to the lèse-majesté laws of the country, citizens who insult, defame, or threaten any member of the royal family may be subjected to a 15-year prison term. The group named “Royalist Marketplace” was created by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who lives in Japan on a self-imposed exile.
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“Our group is part of a democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.” Pavin said when asked about his view on blocking the users.
Facebook later mentioned, “Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves. We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”
The Thai Government is not the first authority Facebook has had a clash with. A politician from the ruling party BJP in India was allowed to stay on the platform after uploading posts that violated Facebook’s hate speech rules. This move is currently under parliamentary inspection.
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Source: Business Insider
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