Now Thailand Plans to Sue YouTube!

Techtree News Staff, May 07, 2007 1821 hrs IST

Thailand is reportedly planning on suing Google's YouTube over video clips deemed insulting to the country's most revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej...

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Thailand is reportedly planning on suing Google's YouTube over video clips deemed insulting to the country's most revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej (79), the world's longest-reigning monarch.

Thailand's army-backed government is considering suing YouTube over charges of 'lese majeste' or insulting the monarchy, a spokesperson for the Thai Information Ministry said.

In Thailand, insulting royalty is considered a 'serious crime,' and offenders are liable to punishment of up to 15 years of imprisonment.

It was last month that an offensive clip showing a pair of feet next to a photograph of the Thai King first appeared on YouTube. Despite strong protests from the Thai government, more such videos continued to appear on YouTube, including one wherein pictures of the monarch had been morphed to make him resemble a monkey.

The Thai government has since continued to block the Google-owned online video-sharing Web site.

And not that this is the first of YouTube's legal woes...

Particularly of late, lawsuits have started to mount against the Web site. What with recent reports of English football's Premier League having sued the Web site for alleged copyright infringement.

Not to mention the 'fresh' addition of NBC Universal to media conglomerate Viacom's long pending copyright lawsuit against YouTube...

USER COMMENTS

youtube shoudn't be alloud to show such things without permisson.

by Anonymous, delhi, on May 07, 2007 11:07 PM, Report abuse Reply

There are people who are forever going to be hurt by anything and everything. Its better to permit free expression and allow , I repeat , allow , the the ones who are hurt to open other websites. Afterall, nobody compells them to open youtube or enter the gallery to see nudes. They have the choice to keep away. They should never be able to dictate what everyone else should read / see .

by dreamer, high above, on May 09, 2007 11:14 PM, Report abuse

Just an image cannot insult a king of an country. It's crazy to block an website for this kind of consequences.

by Narayanan, chennai, on May 08, 2007 11:52 AM, Report abuse Reply

These organizations are threatening the inner workings of the Internet. Youtube has become the go-to place to find videos for entertainment, education, and more. Youtube can only take so many lawsuits before it is taken off line. There are several things that I believe would prevent future lawsuits. Since the video sharing site is user generated, the users themselves should ultimately be held responsible for their actions. Existing users should be required to prove their identity so that they may be contacted in the event of a dispute. New members should also be required to prove their identity. Perhaps if the user knew that Youtube knows exactly who you are, where you live, and other means of contacting you, users would be wary of uploading questionable or copyrighted content. The Youtube service is housed in the United States, and therefore, is governed by United States laws. I can see how Viacom and NBC/Universal have a case. I cannot see how Thailand has a case. The United States has a nifty little thing in the constitution called Freedom of Speech. There is no law that makes it illegal to insult members of a monarch in a foreign country. For countries that are going to be crybabies about hurtful videos on Youtube, the company should either block access to its site entirely based on IP addresses, or they should create localized versions of the website that can only be accessed in the country. Content can be controlled based on the country's laws and ordinances. This is assuming that Youtube is liable for content that does not break laws in the United States, but laws elsewhere.

by Patrick V, Columbus Indiana, on May 08, 2007 08:25 AM, Report abuse Reply