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BANGKOK, May 16 (APD) -- Facebook, the social media giant remains accessible on Tuesday though it still keeps items deemed illicit despite a shutdown warning by the Thai government.
The government has requested Facebook, the social network used by nearly half of the country's population, to block contents that would threaten security or violate the country's lese majeste laws before a deadline on Tuesday, or face legal action and even a shutdown.
The government has singled out 309 posts deemed to have defamed the high institutions. Facebook has removed 178 of them by last Friday, leaving the 131 offending webpages that it claimed lacked court orders.
Though the deadline set by the government has expired so far, Facebook is still available.
The government has no plan to cut access to Facebook immediately, who has cooperated well in terms of taking steps to ban the URLs concerned, according to an official from Thailand's telecom commission.
Facebook has got snubbed in Thailand since 2014' right after the junta toppled the Yingluck's government and came into power. The Information Communications Technology Ministry temporarily cut access to Facebook, saying it's an order to suspend disturbing contents.
Online censorship, especially perceived insults to the monarchy has rolled out in recent years while Facebook, with Southeast Asian's most active users here is targeted.
Last month, the junta also banned people making any online contact with three vocal critics of the monarchy.
Insulting the monarchy is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Also in last month, Facebook was criticized for its failure to remove two videos posted to Facebook Live which showed a Thai man murdering his 11 month old daughter in Phuket.
Statistic shows that Thai people spend an average of 2.35 hours per day on Facebook, 1.5 times higher than watching TV.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
