@lilwanmai case raises issues over social media use, digital literacy

The drama began when Instagram decided to delete the user account @lilwanmai because of infringement of its terms of use. 

The IG account belonged to the adopted sister of Thai celeb Pakron Chatborirak (nicknamed Boy), with the junior celebrity involved being three-year-old Wanmai Chatborirak, with about a million IG followers. 

After Wanmai’s fan-club members discovered the @lilwanmai account had been deleted, they asked Instagram to reverse its decision in regard to their beloved little celeb’s IG account by posting requests to Kevin Systrom (@kevin), the CEO and co-founder of Instagram, with the hashtag #supportlilwanmai. 

Meanwhile, many Thais and other Instagram users expressed support for the company’s action in the case of @lilwanmai with posts on @kevin with the hashtag #supportkevin.

A great deal of comment flooded social media, with opinion divided between criticising Instagram for deleting the account of a young celebrity and supporting the company’s decision to adhere to its terms of use.

In the latest development, Pakron Chatborirak (@boy_prakorn) in fact posted an apology to Instagram’s CEO on his IG timeline.

Some of those commenting said the case reflected the fact that many people used social media or other online services without reading the terms of use. 

Social-media service providers usually get potential users to accept their terms of use before being given access to the services, with the account holder’s age being a key requirement. 

Facebook says that to be eligible to sign up for its service, users must be at least 13 years old, while Instagram – which is owned by Facebook – has a similar condition.

The first basic condition in Instagram’s terms of use reads, “You must be at least 13 years old to use the service.” This is in line with US federal law, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.

However, many Thais accept that they do not read the terms of use of social-media providers or other online services before signing up. 

Thailand is one of the most active countries on social media, with most users making use of more than one social-media platform. But not reading even the first section of the terms of use of a social-media provider suggests that many Thais are not as concerned as they should be about such matters as online privacy and security. 

In the past, the digital divide was the big issue in terms of online access in Thailand, but this is generally no longer a problem as it seems that almost anyone can now access the Internet, with most staying connected via a mobile phone. 

 

Digital-literacy divide

Now, however, the big issue is the digital-literacy divide, as there is a gap between knowledge and the awareness of people when they are online and living in the digital world. 

The vast majority of Thais nowadays are connected online, and are therefore leaving digital footprints. While some give priority to what they are leaving, especially in respect of their digital personal data, there are so many people who neglect to do this.

The government should take action to educate people to live safely and securely in today’s digital age, and to use digital services in the proper way. 

Digital literacy must, therefore, be a priority issue that the government should promote through its digital-economy policy.