Google to remove insulting content

BANGKOK: The government met representatives from Internet giant Google, amid growing calls from hardline royalists to bring those who insult the monarchy to justice, as many look with uncertainty to a future without their revered king.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s death on Oct 13 had thrown the country of 67 million into mourning. It had also led to the rise of ultra-royalist vigilante groups who said they would punish anyone perceived to have insulted the monarchy during a highly sensitive time for the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong said he met Google representatives here on Friday.

Google affirmed in the meeting that it would continue to help the government remove content from YouTube, a Google subsidiary, that it deemed offensive, he said.

“If any website is inappropriate, they said to get in touch with them and inform them of the URL, and the time the content was found,” said Prajin.

That conformed with Google’s practice around the world, Alphabet Inc’s Google said.

“We have always had clear and consistent policies for removal requests from governments around the world and we continue to operate in line with those policies,” said a Google spokesman in California on Friday.

“When we are notified of content that is illegal through official processes, we will restrict it in the country where it’s illegal after a thorough review.”

The government said on Tuesday it was tracking people suspected of insulting the monarchy following the king’s death and would ask other countries to extradite them.

Some critics of the monarchy living abroad have been named and shamed in Thai language web forums.

Outside the world of the web, some Thais who had chosen not to wear black, the official colour of mourning, had been publicly jeered at. Reuters