Yesterday, 4th April, 2007, Thailand’s military-appointed government has blocked access to the popular video-sharing site YouTube after its owners, Google Inc, declined to take down a clip ridiculing the country’s revered monarch: King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
“When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban,” said ICT Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom.
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To a large degree, the Google board's stance illustrates the complicated position on censorship the company has as it expands worldwide.
On the one hand, censoring Internet search results runs afoul of Google's core goal of organizing and disseminating all of the world's information. Yet in order to do so, it says it must abide by varying degrees of censorship worldwide.
Perhaps the best known example of this tightrope Google's walking occurred in China, where Google abided by a government request to censor information to get a business license.
This conflict crystallized even more so on Wednesday, when Google's YouTube video site said that the government of Thailand's is blocking the site after it was used to air an unflattering video of its king.
In a statement, a YouTube spokesman suggested that the company may be planning to fight the decision.
"We are disappointed that YouTube has been blocked in Thailand, and we are currently looking into the matter," the spokesman said
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Acknowledging that the Internet presents “new and unique cultural challenges,” Julie Supun, head of global communications for YouTube, said the company was “disappointed” that the site had been blocked in Thailand.
“We are currently looking into the matter,” Ms. Supun said in a statement on Wednesday. “You Tube reaches a wide global audience and strives to provide a community where people from around the world can express themselves by sharing videos in a safe and lawful manner.”
In Thailand, insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej is a criminal offense. Last week, a Swiss man convicted of vandalizing images of the king and Queen Sirikit was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Since the military government came to power with the overthrow of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra last September, it has banned Web sites, instructed the media to minimize reporting about Mr. Thaksin and has at times blacked out broadcasts of international news channels like CNN. Reporting in newspapers remains lively and apparently uncensored, except for criticism of the monarchy.
Mr. Winai said his department was looking for the person responsible for posting the clip of the king, which had been viewed more than 16,000 times and was posted by someone using the name Paddidda.
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Blog master said..... It 's make me feel that I 'm living in China. I've never thought before this case could be happened in my country. Before, I 'm so funny and abuse it when I heard the news about the despotic government in other countries banned opposite websites. In this case , nobody can stop it absolutely , even that clip was deleted from Youtube Its could be upload again and again , so Youtube's officers would not do anything and they have to be watching the monitor all the time. If this case have been announced to public then nobody couldn't known this clip absolutely , but the military junta have wanted to banned Youtube before , because its used to be against the military junta by upload many clips about man who behind the scene of military junta and the 19 coup last year. Therefor , they have to find the way to ban this website , this issue most appropriate because they have known better that all Thais 're beloved the King , Its sensitive case for Thai peoples. Thai people just would not against the military junta for the ban. Its cheap trick.
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