Facebook to block local content
Media giant response follows court order
Facebook Inc has agreed to comply with the Thai government’s request to restrict local access to content on its site found to be in violation of the country’s laws.
The US internet giant replied to the Thai Internet Service Provider Association (Tispa) after a group of local internet service providers (ISPs) belonging to the association emailed an official request to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week.
Tispa is responsible for 95% of internet traffic in Thailand, and consists of 19 internet service providers as well as an international internet gateway (IIG).
The Criminal Court had ordered some 6,900 web pages or websites to be shut down since 2015, with the NBTC last week ordering all ISPs and IIG to block illicit web pages and content deemed illegal by the court within the next seven days, or risk having their licences revoked.
“When we receive such a request, it is scrutinised to determine if the specified content does indeed violate local laws,” a Facebook spokesman, who declined to be named, told the Bangkok Post via email.
“If we determine that it does, then we make it unavailable in the relevant country or territory and notify people who try to access it why it is restricted,” he added.
“When governments believe that something on the internet violates their laws, they may contact companies like Facebook and ask us to restrict access to that content,” he said.
But there are still around 600 pages, mostly on Facebook, that local ISPs cannot block because they are encrypted, with the host servers located abroad.
Following Facebook’s decision, it was found that some of its content, including pages on l ese majeste fugitive Somsak Jeamteerasakul, have already been removed.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), said Facebook’s response was “a good sign” of things to come.
“The response from Facebook was a good sign of future cooperation between local ISPs and the US internet giant,” he said.
Mr Takorn also said the regulator and local ISPs need to step up their cooperation with Facebook to deal with the proliferation of illicit web pages, especially those involved in pending court cases.
One Facebook user who could be among those affected by this decision said the military junta has been trying to clamp down on many such pages but has not been successful.
On the contrary, the number of followers has increased during this period, he said, adding it is not easy to control the flow of information in the digital era as there are many social media outlets available.
However, Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, an adviser to the National Reforming Steering Assembly committee, said to fight against illegal content, governments must work together on a proposal than simply implementing a raft of draconian measures to control society.
The government’s demand for the removal of content delivery network (CDN) servers from ISPs might also violate the Criminal Procedure Code and affect innocent internet users, said Mr Paiboon, also a cyber specialist and founder of P&P Law Firm.
He also suggested the government should directly contact Facebook Ireland Ltd, which oversees content on web pages specifically in the Asia Pacific region including Thailand, instead of Facebook Inc.
Mr Paiboon said Facebook is normally willing to restrict content that violates US laws, including hate speech and content that breaks criminal codes and the Computer Crime-Related Act.
However, he said Facebook only blocked certain pages and URLs of its web pages, and did not close user accounts in response to such requests.
Mr Paiboon also urged the Thai government to implement an e-commerce tax policy and introduce new taxes specifically designed to tax e-commerce.
The state might waive the tax on e-commerce or social media companies if they opt to cooperate with the government in dealing with illicit content on their websites.
Tispa president Morragot Kulatumyotin acknowledged some of the links on Facebook pages that break Section 112 of the Criminal Code, known as the lese majeste law, have already been restricted.
She said local ISPs are willing to comply with Thai laws and provide full cooperation with the government and regulators in blocking illegal content, as well as preventing a negative impact on innocent internet users.
Any ISP that fails to comply with the order will face penalties ranging from a fine to losing their operating licence or facing criminal charges, she said.
The order relates only to content the court has already declared illegal because of its breaching Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
The government’s order to shut down Facebook and other websites in Thailand if they break local laws will not solve the root causes of the problem and will create a domino effect among other internet providers, says an international law firm.
The removal of content delivery network (CDN) servers from internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegal content would also result in higher international internet access costs, as well as slow down internet users’ connection speed, said Dhiraphol Suwanprateep, a partner in the information and communication technology group of Baker & McKenzie.
“Tackling illegal content has long been troublesome,” he said. “It sounds easy but in practice current technology used for delivering content and storing data are very complicated and interconnected.”
If you change any one part on a network, it will impact other parts (much like the domino effect) and result in considerable time being spent on re-routing traffic so the content can continue to be delivered and/or stored, said Mr Dhiraphol.
“Removing CDN from Thai ISPs is not practical as users can access offshore websites via other means, with or without CDN,” he said. ISPs could still face claims of illegality with the change, said Mr Dhiraphol.
Typically a CDN is located at a local ISP’s premises. But the ISP does not have control over data management. ISPs are responsible for traffic flow, but they do not know what content is contained in such traffic and do not own the content. As such, they are not responsible for uploading content, legal or not.
A CDN is used for content delivery, especially from offshore websites, to reach local end users faster and with greater stability. A CDN is also cost-effective for telecom companies to handle their traffic, meaning users see cheaper service fees.
“Forcing local ISPs to handle illegal content is not practical, as they do not have the full capability to monitor and remove content,” he said. “Under internationally recognised principles, ISPs are merely intermediaries and are exempted from charges in regard to illegal content under safe harbour principles.”
Mr Dhiraphol admitted it is clear illegal content must be tackled; the question is
how to do it. Thailand tries to use cooperative channels, both at governmental and private sector levels, to deal with illegal content.
At a governmental level, Thailand has the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Treaties with seven countries, as well as diplomatic channels for
enforcement overseas. Members of the private sector are requesting cooperation from each other, and feedback on this stance from stakeholders is rather positive, he said.
“These cooperative channels could also solve illegal content issues while limiting its effect,” Mr Dhirapol said.
Thailand recently issued an amendment to the Computer Crime Act adding safe harbour for service providers who remove illegal content after receiving takedown notices, but sub-notifications on this have not been issued, he said. Using other channels makes this law superfluous, said Mr Dhirapol.