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The social media firm mentioned it was “compelled” by the Thai authorities to forestall customers in Thailand accessing Royalist Marketplace — a group with 1 million members that includes posts in regards to the Thai royal household. Facebook mentioned the federal government had deemed the content material “to be illegal.”
“Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves,” a Facebook spokesperson mentioned in an announcement to CNN Business. “We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request.”
Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday defended the actions of the federal government in asking for the Royalist Marketplace to be blocked and threatening legal action.
“There is no such thing as special dictatorial power used in this case. The court’s order has been properly obtained,” Prayut mentioned.
“Thailand has its own laws and everyone has to respect the laws of each country,” he added.
Royalist Marketplace was began by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an exiled Thai dissident based mostly in Japan. Pavin didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from CNN, however advised Reuters that Facebook was “cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand.”
— CNN’s Kocha Olarn contributed to this text.
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