Facebook to Challenge Thailand's Order to Block Group That Scrutinizes the Monarchy

By Niharika Mandhana 

SINGAPORE -- Facebook Inc. said it is preparing to legally challenge Thailand's government in connection with orders to block access to a group on the website focused on the Thai monarchy, a politically sensitive subject in the country.

The private Facebook group, called the Royalist Marketplace, was created in April and quickly became a forum to debate and scrutinize the powerful royal family's role in politics. It amassed a million members at a time when a youthful new movement is demanding greater accountability from the monarchy.

The subject has long been considered off-limits in the country, which has strict lèse-majesté laws, including punishments of up to 15 years in prison. But pro-democracy activists are increasingly questioning those rules and calling for a change in the way the political system operates.

Facebook halted access to the group within Thailand late Monday, the latest example of the challenges the social media company faces in policing its platform and navigating complex political situations around the world. In Singapore, it has added a "correction notice" to a post authorities considered false and agreed to restrict access to dissident political content deemed illegal in Vietnam.

Facebook's decision to take legal action against Thai government orders comes at a time when the company is facing criticism over what its current and former employees said was a pattern of favoritism in India toward the country's ruling party.

The company said Tuesday it was compelled to restrict access to content Thailand's government deemed illegal. "Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves," a Facebook spokesperson said.

The Thai government has been applying pressure to Facebook to restrict "certain types of peaceful political speech," the company said, adding that authorities have also threatened to pursue criminal proceedings against Facebook Thailand.

Thailand's Ministry of Digital Economy and Society didn't respond to requests for comment. The palace hasn't publicly commented on the issue.

The Royalist Marketplace group was created on Facebook by dissident Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an associate professor at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University in Japan.

Mr. Pavin said he started the group to have an "open discussion of the monarchy" and was surprised by how popular it became. Shortly after the group was blocked in Thailand Monday, he said he set up another similar one to continue the conversation. Activists are closely watching Facebook's next steps, he said.

"If Facebook allows the government to get away easily, then it would set a bad example," he said.

Write to Niharika Mandhana at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 25, 2020 10:20 ET (14:20 GMT)

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