James Delahunty
7 Apr 2007 18:11
Google Inc.'s YouTube service has been banned/blocked in Thailand after videos were posted that were considered offensive to the monarch. The videos insulted King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which is a very serious crime in the country. Thailand decided to ban the entire YouTube site after the videos were posted but YouTube would prefer that only offensive material was blocked / removed.
"I don't want to hear a lecture on free speech... I am a proponent of free speech but this is just culturally insensitive and offensive... we will not tolerate materials that offend the monarchy," Minister of Information Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said. He added that Thailand would consider lifting the ban if it had the ability to block only offending pages.
"It's up to the Thailand government to decide whether to block specific videos, but we would rather that than have them block the entire site," YouTube's head of global communications, Julie Supan, said. The ban immediately sparked outrage from media rights groups, who claim that it is an example of increasing censorship by the government.
The first video posted showed the 79-year-old King covered with graffiti and pictures of 'feet' over his face, which is incredibly offensive to Thais as they consider feet the dirtiest part of the human body. The video was removed but was followed later by two similar clips.
Source:
BBC News