Police yesterday warned users of the Clubhouse social media app that they could still be prosecuted for defaming others on it despite its invite-only feature.
The audio-chat app has grown in popularity in Thailand following its launch last year and now has an estimated 100,000 users here. It is also seen as a new way for people to express their views on political and sensitive issues.
"There are no secrets in this world, especially in cyberspace," said Pol Col Kissana Phathanacharoen, deputy police spokesman. "We don't know if someone else will record us while we're saying something that could be used against others later."
In Thailand, a string of celebrities, politicians and public figures have been active on Clubhouse, including Progressive Movement leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, Kla Party leader Korn Chatikavanij and film director Yuthlert Sippapak.
Every Clubhouse user should respect the rights of others when they are using the new social media platform, said Pol Col Kissana, who is also spokesman for the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau.
His warning followed a directive from the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry on Wednesday that Thais must use the app responsibly after reports emerged some political activists and celebrities had flocked to the new platform to discuss the country's highly sensitive issues. One of them was Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a scholar in exile in Japan to escape a lese majeste charge, who started discussing the monarchy, after which some of his thousands of listeners chimed in with questions and opinions.
Anything deemed defamatory could lead to a penalty of one year in prison or a maximum fine of 20,000 baht, or both, said Pol Col Kissana. The act of inputting distorted or false information into a computer system may lead to a five-year prison sentence or a maximum fine of 100,000 baht, he said.
DES Minister Buddhipongse Punnakanta said his staff had been monitoring the use of Clubhouse ever since it was launched.