Thailand backs down on FB ban

BANGKOK: Thai authorities yesterday backed down on their threat to ban Facebook over posts deemed critical of the royal family after officials said the social networking giant had agreed to expunge such content.

Thailand ferociously enforces a draconian lese majeste law that outlaws criticism of the monarchy.

Since ultra-royalist generals seized power three years ago, more than 100 people have been charged, many for comments made online, and some have been jailed for decades.

Authorities redoubled efforts to purge the Thai web following the October ascension of the new king, Maha Vajiralongkorn.

Last week, Thailand’s telecom regulator, NBTC, said it would file a police complaint against Facebook’s Thailand office and shut down the hugely popular site if it did not, by yesterday, remove more than 130 “illegal” posts.

“Facebook is cooperating with Thailand,” Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of NBTC said after the 10am deadline passed. AFP