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YouTube blocked in Thailand: clip mocks revered king

by Kaitlin | April 4, 2007 at 08:36 am

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UPDATE: There may be hope for YouTube--apparently the King has pardoned a Swiss man who was charged with defacing pictures of the King during the 60th Anniversary of his rule last December. The man, who is a Swiss national but has lived in Thailand for 10 years, will now be deported back to Switzerland. If this man was pardoned, perhaps the YouTuber (and YouTube itself) will be next?

A short YouTube slideshow of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, which has been viewed over 16,000 times, has led to YouTube being banned in Thailand. The slideshow mostly involves cartoonish graphics over photos of the King, which exaggerate his facial expressions. Watch it here.

"Since Google has rejected our repeated requests to withdraw the clip, we can't help blocking the entire site in Thailand," said Sitthichai, a telecoms professor who said he had spent most of his academic life researching eavesdropping devices.

"When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban," he said.

YouTube, which has dominated the user-generated on-line video market since it was founded in February last year, carried a 44-second clip ridiculing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, who is revered by all 63 million Thais.

1 See all footage | View Slideshow

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jordan

at 08:55 on April 4th, 2007

Scary stuff. Even under normal circumstances, the king is revered in Thailand: you can't even deface any currency which bears his image. Now, after a military coup, Thailand is no longer a democracy (many would say that it wasn't even before the uprising), so all freedom-of-speech bets are off.

bloggi

at 21:47 on April 4th, 2007

Indeed, the ban for YouTube is taking it a bit far. While it might have been arguable whether it was legitimate to be scared to travel to Thailand after the tsunami (probably not), now there is no doubt that going to Thailand is to be avoided at all costs.

It seems that, on the Internet, saying things to the dislike of governments everywhere becomes more of an offence that actually wrong-doing in the physical world. When symbolical politics and authoritariansm come together, it seems time to bid farewell.

Kaitlin

at 14:20 on April 5th, 2007

Interesting, bloggi--I would never think of these conditions as a reason not to visit a country. Not that you're wrong to think that; to each his own. I would think of it as a reason to be cautious around his image (which is everywhere) but not a reason to avoid the country. Freedom of movement, man! We can still be free to go there and experience the place and its people, even if we're not free to talk about the king.

tigerfarm

at 04:47 on April 21st, 2007

When in Rome, do like the Romans. When in Thailand, respect the King, like the Thais. I'm sure, being deported from Thailand will make others think twice about defacing property in Thailand. A few years ago, a fellow was caned for spray painting in Singapore. Yes, reasons to be cautious.

Regarding the coup in Thailand, it was bloodless...I think George Bush should take note, and learn from the Thais next time he thinks about toppling another government.

Oh yeah...it looks like YouTube.com, or the owner of the video, removed the offending video.