Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said on Wednesday that the ministry has summoned internet providers to acknowledge a court order to block or delete eight Facebook accounts, groups and fan pages, known for their criticism of the Thai monarchy.
The accounts the court order seeks to block are those of Pavin Chachavalpongpun, Andrew MacGregor Marshall, Suda Rangkupan, Aum Neko, Pixel HELPER, and others, including the notorious Facebook group “Royalist Market Place” founded by Pavin, a Thai academic in exile in Japan.
Any new or other accounts related to the same users, providing similar content, will also face a ban, the minister said.
Citing the ministry’s notification, issued in 2017, Chaiwut said the actions stipulated in the court order must be taken within 24 hours.
A working committee has also been set up to pressure platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, to ban accounts which feature content which violates Thai laws, he said, while warning internet users to respect the law and refrain from posting illegal content.
“DES now gives importance to prosecuting violators to the fullest extent of the law,” Chaiwut said.
