<incom> are thai authorities in need of education?

[Geert Lovink]

Sydney Morning Herald: YouTube offers to 'educate' Thai authorities 
about site
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/07/1175366518702.html

April 7, 2007 - 11:29PM

YouTube said Saturday it has offered to "educate" Thai authorities 
about how the popular video-sharing service works in the hope of ending 
a ban on the site over videos mocking Thailand's revered king.

The company had spoken with Thai communications minister Sitthichai 
Pookaiyaudoom about the ban, which was imposed Wednesday after a user 
posted a video deemed here as offensive to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 
YouTube spokeswoman Julie Supan said.

"Minister Sitthichai reported that his government is inflexible on the 
blocking of individual objectionable videos, and that the ministry's 
technical people have difficulty understanding how to block individual 
videos," she said in an email to AFP.

"While we will not take down videos that do not violate our policies, 
and will not assist in implementing censorship, we have offered to 
educate the Thai ministry about YouTube and how it works," she said.

"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," 
she added.

Thailand's communications ministry said it was still deciding how to 
proceed, but was willing to consider censoring individual videos rather 
than the entire site.

"We insist that the clips considered offensive must be removed from the 
website," said communications ministry spokesman Vissanu Meeyoo.

"We will look into the technical possibilities of blocking individual 
web pages without blocking the entire site," Vissanu added.

But the difficulty for censors in blocking individual videos became 
increasingly clear as new clips continued to be posted throughout the 
week.

Some videos mocked the king with graphic imagery, but others offered 
earnest commentary about freedom of speech and Thailand's strict laws 
against offending the king.

The site, accessed from Bangkok through a foreign server, now has at 
least 10 clips connected to the controversy.

Although the original clip has been removed by the user who created it, 
some others are similar, showing pictures of the king next to images of 
feet -- seen as deeply offensive in Thailand.

Others have digitally altered the king's face to make him look like a 
monkey, or edited his picture to include him in graphic sexual images.

But some were simple videos of individuals expressing their concern 
about the free speech issues raised by the ban, part of a fierce debate 
that has erupted on the Internet message boards in Thailand and around 
the world.

Media freedom watchdogs have condemned the ban, saying it underscores 
the military government's effort to censor political dialogue on the 
Internet.

Thailand has blocked some 45,000 websites, according to the group 
Freedom Against Censorship Thailand.

Most of them are believed to be pornographic, but the government has 
also banned websites linked to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra 
as well as online discussions of the insurgency in Thailand's south.

YouTube also includes videos of Thaksin, including messages made for 
one of his websites that has been banned.

Thailand's king, almost universally adored by Thais, is the world's 
longest-reigning monarch, and one of the few who is still protected by 
tough laws that prohibit any insult against the royal family.

The ban came a week after Thailand jailed a Swiss man for 10 years for 
insulting the king by vandalising his portraits during a drunken spree.