[NEWS] YouTube clip out, but Thai ban continues

[noungning]

YouTube clip out, but Thai ban continues
Gov't banned site after video was posted mocking king
By Ambika Ahuja
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:11 p.m. ET April 5, 2007

BANGKOK, Thailand - The Thai government retained a ban on YouTube on Thursday despite the removal from the video-sharing site of a short clip deemed insulting to the country's beloved monarch.

The site still featured at least one still frame from the contentious 44-second video, said Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the minister of information and technology.

"That's not enough. We want the picture removed, too, before we unblock it," said Sitthichai, adding that Thai authorities have contacted YouTube to request the removal of all traces of the video.

Thai authorities blocked YouTube on Wednesday after YouTube turned down his request to remove the clip, which showed graffitti-like elements crudely painted over a photograph slideshow of 79-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

One part of that video juxtaposed pictures of feet over the king's image — a major taboo in a culture where feet are considered extremely dirty and offensive. The soundtrack was the Thai national anthem.

A notice posted on the page where the video once sat said the item had "been removed by the user."

Sitthichai said he had not heard back from the company about his new request to remove the still photo.

"It's hard to tell how (the company) will respond," Sitthichai said. "In some countries, it's a norm to have their leaders mocked, but this is different. With the king, it is very offensive to the Thai public."

Parodies of presidents and other public figures are protected in the United States under the First Amendment. YouTube and its owner, search company Google Inc., both have their headquarters in California.

When Sitthichai approached Google to remove the video, the company told him that some clips have attacked President Bush far more harshly than the Thai king had been mocked.

Although the clip raised issues about freedom of expression in Thailand, many viewers also reacted with outrage, hurling abuse at the clip's creator, self-described as 30-year-old "paddidda" based in the United States.

Nonetheless, after the site was blocked and news of the ban circulated, the number of viewers of the video skyrocketed, with more than 40,000 visiting the site from around the world in about 24 hours, according to statistics posted on YouTube. Total views reached 66,553 before the video was pulled.

A YouTube spokeswoman, Julie Supan, said in an e-mail statement Wednesday night that the company was disappointed with the Thai block.

"The Internet is an international phenomenon and while technology can bring great opportunity and access to information globally, it can also present new and unique cultural challenges," she wrote.

YouTube was one of a number of Web sites deemed insulting to the king and blocked by Thailand's military-installed government, Sitthichai said.

Critics have accused the current government of blocking Web sites criticizing the September coup that overthrew former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The interim government installed after the coup has come under increasing criticism, and groups calling for an early restoration of democracy have organized protests.


© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17965158/

 

[noungning]

this is following the release of the video of the foreigner who spray painted the king's photograph in chiang mai.

i guess those who is behind the video is just upset of how Lèse majesté is still in use in thailand, Lèse majesté is where there is prosecution of the person who is violating or causing harm to the majesty and family's themselves, or their image.

i just saw this happening after the guy who spray painted the portrait of the king sentenced for 10 years in prison. h34r:

i haven't seen many blocks until lately, there were plenty of blocks on pornographic sites, but now it's spreading to political sites and also those sites degrading the majesty and the royal family.

 

[lilxgxriah]

omg..i just got a message from one of my frends on youtube, sayin that she couldnt upload anymore lakorns for me because youtube was blocked in thailand...thats so dumb..youtube shld jus remove the video to make everyone happy...think about it...its that one video that will prevent millions of others to their website..if they were smart, they wld accept thailands request to take out that video

 

[noungning]

i think they have removed the video, well at least the one video "was removed from the user"

but there are multiple accounts being made from someone in bangkok with an international server that posts the videos degrading the majesty.

i know, at first, youtube didn't want to pull the video, but after the first day of thailand's ban of youtube nationwide, they pulled the video.

but i guess there are more videos just popping up and so they now refuse to unban the site until everything clears up.

 

[thai-lakorn-fan-forever]

all those videos should be banned! i can definitely see why that video was offensive...

 

[*Ice*]

kinda sucks coz i cant view youtube :s

 

[jeanie]

The thing is though, Youtube is not owned by a Thai corporation nor is it run by Thai people. Why should they ban or remove videos just because its offensive to some people? What if people all over started emailing them about removing offensive videos to them? It might be illegal in Thai to insult the king but it isn't anywhere else in the world. The only responsibility Youtube has is removing copyrighted material if it comes to their attention or the people of the copyrighted material request it. Otherwise everything's fair game.

 

[Angie]

^^I agree with you, jeanie. People make fun of other people all the time. Like the American make fun of President Bush and his administrations, or the British make fun of their King and Queen, etcs. Why would the King care what one or two person displaying the mocking of images in the video? It seems like the video is not of any copyright images and Youtube have the right to put it there if it's not going against their rules.

 

[*Ice*]

because you 2 up there ^ its offensive and illegal to do these things and to even take pictures and show videos is just as much as doing the crime. it aint of what i heard illegal to take the noo noo outta bush and tha queen of england ( btw aint a king of england juss queen ) i found it offensive that a white person can think he can walk into thailand and get drunk and spray tha thing of the king! thais really respect tha king! were ever you are in the world even if you grew up in thailand like me its so ughh i unno maybe someone can explain it better than me...

 

[fan]

if you read the thread about the guy who is being punished for spray painting pictures of the King you will understand the issue of why its not just an act of free speech that should be tolerated a bit better.

once again its a joke to even compare President Bush to the King. Americans dont care for their president one bit, where as in Thailand everybody loves the King and will defend him at all cost. The fact that YouTube argues that President Bush is mocked more harshly also shows their ignorance as to why Thailand has requested that the video and all other traces be removed.

YouTube may not have a legal obligation under U.S. law to remove the video, but as their argument goes... the internet is worldwide therefore YouTube should also be subject to the legal ramifications of other countries if there is something illegal occuring on their site. in this case videos insulting the King is illegal in Thailand and Thailand has the right to react to it.

it sucks that a few disrespectful people are ruining it for the whole in Thailand and those here, but then thats usually how it goes

 

[noungning]

The thing is though, Youtube is not owned by a Thai corporation nor is it run by Thai people. Why should they ban or remove videos just because its offensive to some people? What if people all over started emailing them about removing offensive videos to them? It might be illegal in Thai to insult the king but it isn't anywhere else in the world. The only responsibility Youtube has is removing copyrighted material if it comes to their attention or the people of the copyrighted material request it. Otherwise everything's fair game.

^^I agree with you, jeanie. People make fun of other people all the time. Like the American make fun of President Bush and his administrations, or the British make fun of their King and Queen, etcs. Why would the King care what one or two person displaying the mocking of images in the video? It seems like the video is not of any copyright images and Youtube have the right to put it there if it's not going against their rules.

true, the company google is not owned or affiliated to thai people. but like fan has said, they should respect the laws of other countries. for example, china, they do not display any videos that may be offensive to china, and they will promptly take it off when requested.

well the thing with youtube keeping the video up, they can choose to keep it up, but i don't think google would be stupid enough to have that happen because that means losing the chance of making money from ppl in thailand that utilizes that site. that's why they opted to have the video removed rather than have the whole country ban their site.

 

[rukD2B]

Just found out about this a bit ago.
I was so shocked and so pissed off.
Who the heck could do such a thing?!
Seems like the VDO was "removed by user."
I found another VDO just like it though.
Why are some people so stupid?!

 

[darvil]

Although I'm in an agreement with people who said the video should be removed, I think this ban is one of the most pointless thing you can do. Do you guys know that it is impossible to block all videos? The person who is riling up this whole situation could register a new youtube account everyday and keep posting the video.

If the leaders of Thailand want to continue on with this then they would never logically unban youtube.

The only way would be for them to find that person and prosecute him and that would NEVER happen (if this person doesn't live in Thailand that is). Since they didn't find him yet, it probably means that he is outside Thailand doing this kind of thing.

So they won't be able to prosecute him, and they won't ever unban youtube if this individual wants to keep doing this. This is a loss/loss situation for the people of Thailand.

 

[noungning]

Although I'm in an agreement with people who said the video should be removed, I think this ban is one of the most pointless thing you can do. Do you guys know that it is impossible to block all videos? The person who is riling up this whole situation could register a new youtube account everyday and keep posting the video.

If the leaders of Thailand want to continue on with this then they would never logically unban youtube.

The only way would be for them to find that person and prosecute him and that would NEVER happen (if this person doesn't live in Thailand that is). Since they didn't find him yet, it probably means that he is outside Thailand doing this kind of thing.

So they won't be able to prosecute him, and they won't ever unban youtube if this individual wants to keep doing this. This is a loss/loss situation for the people of Thailand.

true, the same person made multiple accounts to post these videos, it was on various sources.

yes, again, the ban seems like it won't be lifted, although they do say this is temporarily... i don't think it's ever going to be lifted, and if lifted likely temporary.

and yes again, they need to find this individual, which on some of the news i've read is a person from bangkok, they said the individual is making the new accounts in bangkok and also know that this is down on an international server. 1 idiot distroying the pleasure of many...so sad.