Thailand threatens to sue Facebook after videos emerge of king in crop top wandering in German shopping centre
Thai authorities are demanding that Facebook remove embarrassing footage of their king in a shopping centre, wearing a crop top and sporting fake tattoos, in a test of the country’s strict censorship laws.
The video of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, strolling around a shopping centre with a woman was reportedly filmed in Munich in July 2016, and was widely shared on the social network.
The Thai king, in footage filmed last year in Germany
But Thai officials are threatening to press charges against Facebook if the clip is still available at 10am on Tuesday.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), announced on Thursday that the authorities would sue.
The legal action would first be against Facebook Thailand and its partners, he said, according to The Bangkok Post.
A fortnight ago members of the Thai Internet Service Provider Association sent an email to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg asking his company to block the posts with content ruled illegal in Thailand.
Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws make insulting the monarchy a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The Worldwide Movement for Human Rights has said 105 people have been arrested under the strict laws since May 2014.
The Thai king
Mr Takorn said that the Thai authorities had asked Facebook to remove 309 posts it deemed offensive, and 178 of those on the list had been removed. The remaining 131 posts were still accessible in Thailand, and Facebook did not explain why.
“If even a single illicit page remains, we will immediately discuss what legal steps to take against Facebook Thailand,” said Mr Takorn.
A file picture dated 09 May 2016 shows Maha Vajiralongkorn, then the crown prince, presiding over the royal ploughing ceremony at Sanam Luang in Bangkok CREDIT: EPA
The monarch is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last year at the age of 88.
After spending much of his life outside the public eye, King Vajiralongkorn was catapulted into the limelight as king of a politically fractured nation.
Thailand threatens to sue Facebook after videos emerge of king in crop top wandering in German shopping centre
Thai authorities are demanding that Facebook remove embarrassing footage of their king in a shopping centre, wearing a crop top and sporting fake tattoos, in a test of the country’s strict censorship laws.
The video of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, 64, strolling around a shopping centre with a woman was reportedly filmed in Munich in July 2016, and was widely shared on the social network.
The Thai king, in footage filmed last year in Germany
But Thai officials are threatening to press charges against Facebook if the clip is still available at 10am on Tuesday.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), announced on Thursday that the authorities would sue.
The legal action would first be against Facebook Thailand and its partners, he said, according to The Bangkok Post.
A fortnight ago members of the Thai Internet Service Provider Association sent an email to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg asking his company to block the posts with content ruled illegal in Thailand.
Thailand’s strict lese-majeste laws make insulting the monarchy a crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
The Worldwide Movement for Human Rights has said 105 people have been arrested under the strict laws since May 2014.
The Thai king
Mr Takorn said that the Thai authorities had asked Facebook to remove 309 posts it deemed offensive, and 178 of those on the list had been removed. The remaining 131 posts were still accessible in Thailand, and Facebook did not explain why.
“If even a single illicit page remains, we will immediately discuss what legal steps to take against Facebook Thailand,” said Mr Takorn.
A file picture dated 09 May 2016 shows Maha Vajiralongkorn, then the crown prince, presiding over the royal ploughing ceremony at Sanam Luang in Bangkok CREDIT: EPA
The monarch is the only son of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who died last year at the age of 88.
After spending much of his life outside the public eye, King Vajiralongkorn was catapulted into the limelight as king of a politically fractured nation.
Thailand threatens to sue Facebook after videos emerge of king in crop top wandering in German shopping centre
