While the government has scaled up efforts to clamp down on social media accounts it deems illegal over the past month, it encountered opposition not only from locals who believe the move is an attempt to cripple anti-government sentiment, but also from Facebook, which says the move would hamper free speech and human rights.
The social media giant has made it clear it would legally challenge the government's requests for it to block certain pages, though some analysts doubt their ability to follow through because of murky feasibility.
Facebook has about 50 million Thai users and if there is a legal tussle with the government, there is a risk that many businesses that count on Facebook for social commerce would be thrown in disarray.
CRUCIAL DEADLINE
On Aug 10, the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry sent requests to several online platforms to block access to 1,276 social media pages deemed unlawful in Thailand upon orders from the court, including 1,129 pages on Facebook.
All 1,276 pages were closed by Aug 25, including "Royalist Marketplace" Facebook page, which contained plenty of sensitive content related to the monarchy. The page was operated by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who works as a university lecturer in Japan and is wanted for lese majeste charges.
Facebook issued a statement on Aug 25, saying: "Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves."
The social media giant indicated it is "preparing to legally challenge the request".
On Aug 26, the DES Ministry sent another set of 1,024 accounts to several social media platforms for removal. They include 661 Facebook pages. A 15-day deadline, starting from Aug 27, was set for these platforms to take them down.
"We will not talk with Facebook at this time, waiting until the deadline to see how it responds," said Buddhipongse Punnakanta, the DES minister.
Under the Computer Crime Act, failure to comply with the court orders carries a fine of up to 200,000 baht and an additional 5,000 baht a day until the orders are observed.
If the platforms fail to comply with the legal requests by the deadline, the DES Ministry will have to prosecute them, said Mr Buddhipongse.
"This is what we call Thai sovereignty. Thais are protected under the Thai law," the minister said.
The ministry is working with related agencies, including the Technology Crime Suppression Department, to detect any illicit or inappropriate content shared through social media platforms and plans to take stringent legal actions, he said.
Mr Buddhipongse brushed aside a move to force internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to URLs deemed to contain illicit content in the country, saying the content is encrypted in content delivery networks (CDN) abroad and local ISPs cannot block or remove them.
A CDN refers to a geographically distributed group of servers that work together to provide fast delivery of online content.
"I think what we are doing now is the best solution, regardless of whether it is seen as a cat and mouse game," said Mr Buddhipongse.
TAX NEEDED
Thailand is in the process of developing a taxation system to govern over-the-top (OTT) service providers and platforms.
"Now is the time to gear up for what should be considered a clearer solution on this," he said.
Last year France took the first step on the issue, passing a law to tax digital giants on revenue accrued inside the country. France is the first major economy to pass such tax legislation.
"We have to use legal tools under Thai laws and the tax regime to govern OTT platforms," the minister said.
Although social media platforms create benefits for users in terms of business and engagement, any illicit or fraudulent elements must be properly dealt with for the sake of forming a quality platform, said Mr Buddhipongse.
LEGAL VIEWS
Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, a cyberlaw expert who jointly drafted the Computer Crime Act, said any foreign apps and server operators are obliged to comply with the laws of the countries they operate in, and court orders cannot be neglected.
"Facebook cannot sue the Thai government just because it was asked to block access to pages in line with court orders," said Mr Paiboon. The platform does have the right to ask the court to revoke the orders, he said.
"The DES Ministry only sought the court's consideration to issue the orders, and the courts have to deliberate whether the pages disseminated illegal content that could affect national security," said Mr Paiboon. "Each court has its own jurisdiction."
The Computer Crime Act's principles were drafted in line with the Convention on Cybercrime, the first international treaty seeking to address cybercrime, he said. Human rights violations would be out of the question, said Mr Paiboon.
The government could sue Facebook Thailand, an authorised representative of the US social media giant, he said.
Last year Facebook Thailand earned around 500 million baht from its operations in the country, and if the platform faces legal action, it would be in a difficult situation, said Mr Paiboon.
If Thailand decides to totally ban Facebook, it could face headwinds in the World Trade Organization if the move is interpreted as an attempt to discriminate against a particular platform, which suggests an unfair trade treatment.
On Aug 31, Facebook issued a message saying it will update terms of its service on Oct 1, which includes Facebook's freedom to remove or restrict access to users' content, services or information if it considers it necessary to "avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook".
This suggests a softened stance by Facebook, said Mr Paiboon, as this update could help Facebook avoid being sued.
YOUNG TARGETS
A media agency source who requested anonymity said Facebook's move to challenge the government's requests to block certain pages appears to be an attempt to appeal to Gen Y and Z, who are the main audiences for pages containing political and monarchy content.
The majority of Facebook users in Thailand are those in age ranges.
The biggest group of active Facebook users in Thailand is those aged 40-49, which accounts for 25% of Thai users, followed by those aged 30-39 and 50-59 (20% each).
Younger generations, the source said, appear to be drawn to Twitter and TikTok, which had 11 million and 12 active users, respectively, in 2019. Most of the users are youngsters.
Facebook received the highest digital media spending of 6.1 billion baht in Thailand last year, accounting for 31% of the total spending, according to a report conducted by the Digital Advertising Association of Thailand in partnership with market research consultancy firm Kantar.
This was followed by YouTube, which gained 3.9 billion baht.
LOCAL PLATFORM
Pathom Indarodom, vice-president of the Thai Digital Trade Association, said censorship is an outdated tactic used for TV, newspapers and radio.
Social media platforms keep changing and some have petered out or disappeared, he said.
"If you block one platform, users may seek content from another. This is a cat and mouse game," Mr Pathom said.
According to him, the time has come for the country to have its own local social media platform, which could serve as a key communication tool.
"Even though the government still relies on major social media platforms to reach Thai audiences, why not use existing local platforms, such as Pantip.com and Blockdit?"
China, Russia and Vietnam all have their own platforms, which is also a boon for the digital environment, offering the opportunity to develop as unicorn startups, said Mr Pathom.
Data kept by these platforms can be optimally leveraged through data analytics, he said.
He said most Thais only look at content on social media in line with their interests.
"Why doesn't the government offer more choices of content and platforms so people are able to think differently?" said Mr Pathom.
HEAVY PRICES
Chonrungsee Chalermchaikit, president of the Federation of Thai SMEs, said any notion to completely block Facebook in Thailand will harm a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that use the platform as their main channel to promote their products.
Unlike large businesses with more money and channels to sell their products, SMEs will bear the brunt if their access to the platform is blocked, she said.
The federation suggests the government set up a new platform similar to Facebook so the country will not rely on channels owned by foreign firms.
Referring to this suggestion, Federation of Thai Industries chairman Supant Mongkolsuthree said it is not easy to build a social media platform such as Facebook, which has international access.
If the government wants to have its own platform, it has to work with private companies, he said.
But such cooperation will not guarantee people will enjoy using it, said Mr Supant.
He believes the wrangling between the government and Facebook will be limited to political issues and not end up affecting Thai businesses on the platform.
"It's clear there are only two parties in the conflict – Facebook and the Thai government. This has nothing to do with Facebook's services," said Mr Supant.
"I believe Facebook can differentiate between politics and business aspects that serve millions of people."