Facebook given deadline to block 131 “illegal” web pages
Thai authorities have given social media giant Facebook until Tuesday morning to block access to 131 web pages that are deemed illegal, mainly with content insulting the monarchy.
The ultimatum by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, and Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCDS) comes after Google and YouTube earlier deleted hundreds of illegal web pages or URLs from their content.
Facebook has been given until 10am of May 16 to block all 131 URLs that have been deemed illegal, or its local representatives will be summoned to explain their position.
Takorn Tantasith, NBTC secretary-general, said on Thursday that between last week and yesterday, Google and YouTube have deleted at least 469 illegal web pages or URLs after the relevant authorities and local Internet service providers (ISPs) aimed to block more than 600 URLs with illegal content.
The 131 illegal web pages registered under Facebook accounts have not been blocked even after local ISPs notified Facebook by email last week.
If Facebook fails to comply with the request by authorities within the given time, its Thailand office would be summoned to discuss the problem with authorities to ensure that Thai law and relevant court orders are abided by, Takorn said.