There is a new development in the conflict between YouTube and the Thai dictatorship:
According to The Guardian:
The Thai government abruptly scrapped plans to sue Google after the U.S. company agreed to remove from a Web site video clips deemed insulting to the country’s revered king, an official said Friday.
The government blocked access to YouTube - a popular video-sharing site owned by Google - on April 4, after Google Inc. turned down Thailand’s request to remove the clips seen as offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“We decided not to sue Google because it has agreed to cooperate in removing 12 video clips from the YouTube Web site,” said Vissanu Meeyoo, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology spokesman.
Following this development, there are many new questions: When will YouTube be available again in Thailand? Will YouTube now block any future content that is deemed illegal in Thailand? Will there be a global ban on content deemed to breach the Thai lèse majesté provisions? Will the provocateurs who uploaded the offending YouTube videos now just find other outlets for their work? Will they be banned too?
Some of the videos that have been deemed offensive are certainly still available on YouTube at the moment, and the best reports are uncertain about what will happen next. I guess some of the remaining videos will be taken down over the coming days. It will be interesting to see how this process is managed.
7 responses so far ↓
1 Global Voices Online » Thailand: You Tube Surrenders to Thailand // May 12, 2007 at 1:07 pm
[...] Thailand had threatened to sue Google and YouTube is currently blocked in Thailand.New Mandala has some questions. “Following this development, there are many new questions: When will YouTube be available [...]
2 Hew // May 12, 2007 at 2:59 pm
In the report I read, Google had said that half the clips had already been removed by their original posters. Of the remainder, several would be removed as offensive to HMK. The remainder on the government’s ‘offensive’ list were judged by google to be political criticisms of the government and nothing to do with lese majeste. These would not be removed.
Another report had the government saying it would go after the original posters of all the offensive clips.
3 You Tube Gives in to the Thais… // May 17, 2007 at 8:23 pm
[...] Thailand had threatened to sue Google and YouTube is currently blocked in Thailand : New Mandala has some questions. “Following this development, there are many new [...]
4 Global Voices Online » YouTube Vs.Thailand: The Latest Round // May 19, 2007 at 3:30 am
[...] what is taking the MICT so long? A comment by Hew on New Mandala might offer some clues. In the report I read, Google had said that half the clips had [...]
5 YouTube Vs.Thailand: The Latest Round « บันทึกการปล้นอำนาจอธิปไตยของปวงชนชาวไทย // May 20, 2007 at 5:44 am
[...] what is taking the MICT so long? A comment by Hew on New Mandala might offer some clues. In the report I read, Google had said that half the clips had [...]
6 YouTube Vs.Thailand: The Latest Round « บันทึกการปล้นอำนาจอธิปไตยของปวงชนชาวไทย // May 20, 2007 at 5:44 am
[...] what is taking the MICT so long? A comment by Hew on New Mandala might offer some clues. In the report I read, Google had said that half the clips had [...]
7 CJ Hinke // May 22, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Google, for whatever reason, called Thai govt’s bluff by taking their own good time. We would hope they learned something after facilitating censorship in China.
The videos were sophomoric and Thai govt equally juvenile in its reaction. Thai public simply had the typical knee-jerk reaction where the monarch is concerned.
Censors always get drunk on the wine of absolute power and Thailand’s censors are no different.
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