Facebook: Thai Government Warns Against Pressing 'Like' On Social Network

Thai Government Warns Against Facebook 'Like'

Thai authorities have warned the country's Facebook users that "liking" certain groups, specifically ones that expound anti-monarchy sentiments, is a prosecutable offence.

On Wednesday, 61-year-old Amphon Tangnoppaku was given a 20-year sentence for sending a text message that the court deemed offensive to the Thai Queen.

Tangnoppaku was sentenced under Thailand's lèse-majesté laws, strict legislation that makes it a criminal act to insult the ruling family.

Now the country's information technology minister, Anudith Nakornthap, has told citizens that anyone who uses Facebook to break the lèse-majesté laws should delete their comments or face prosecution.

"If they don't delete them, they can end up violating the computer crime act for indirectly distributing inappropriate content," Anudith told the Bangkok Post.

However, human rights group Amnesty International has criticised the Tangnoppaku jailing and has called on Thailand to respect freedom of speech.

"Thailand has every right to have a law but its current form and usage place the country in contravention of its international legal obligations," Amnesty's Benjamin Zawacki Zawacki told the Associated Press. "Repression remains the order of the day in Thailand on freedom of expression and Amphon is a political prisoner."

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