Publication Date : 08-05-2013
Thailand's Information and Communications Technology Ministry seems to have confused its role and function as it launches a campaign to crack down on "improper posting" in cyber-world - a job nobody could do successfully.
The ministry is proud of its work to block a lot of webpages with lese majeste content and pornography. Now, ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap has mulled expanding the campaign to ban all libellous comments on the Net, notably ones deemed insulting to people in power, including Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.
Of course, the computer law authorises the ministry to control so-called "dangerous sites" for the benefit of security, social order and morality, but the law itself is problematic at the beginning as it can be abused for political purposes to gag opponents.
It is true also that there is increasingly improper, rude, libellous and dirty content on the Internet. Social media, too, is used for political purposes to relay criticism, sarcastic and even hate speech to attack rivals. Public figures, the elite and politicians are both users and victims.
Cyber-world is something like a market where people can exchange goods and information, bargain and sometimes quarrel or even have a brawl. In a free world, state authorities might get involved only if it gets to physical harm.
Prime Minister Yingluck may have had a feeling of distress when she was attacked by cartoonist Chai Ratchawat in a post that compared her to a prostitute. Other public figures such as movie stars or singers might feel the same when somebody posts rude or defamatory words about them but most know how to deal with such attacks. Some may hit back while many react with silence.
It is very rare for them to choose legal action to end defamation cases and many matters end up with compromises out of the courtroom. Courts are tired of such matters. Nobody has died from being scolded.
Indeed, Yingluck's crew does not need to file any lawsuit against Chai's bad-taste post as her nephew Panthongtae, who is keen on this matter, has known the best way to handle such attacks - by using the same tool. The cartoonist Chai will also learn that his post was really in bad taste and has damaged his reputation. He has been widely criticised for desperately lacking ideas and using no intellect to choose such words to criticise a prime minister, who has the people's mandate to run the country. For a journalistic cartoonist, being scolded for having no brain is hurt enough.
Well-known academic and former senator Chirmsak Pinthong had a similar experience when he posted pictures of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with two different women and wrote captions with sexual content. He had to offer an apology to a young woman in the picture, whom he realised later was an actress.
By then, Chirmsak had received strong criticism from the star and her fan club. The courts have no need to be involved in such cases.
There are and will be many such matters in our society, as people are learning how to exercise their freedom of expression for the benefit of their political arguments.
Under the rule of law, the government has certain authority to control freedom of expression deemed to hurt the public interest. Indeed, there is no absolute freedom on this planet, as our freedom always affects others' rights. We have freedom to shout, but loud noise could hurt our neighbour's right to sleep in peace.
However, freedom of expression is a basic right for people in a democratic society, which Thailand wants to be. It's important for the country's rulers to know the public has different ideas. State officials should, therefore, fine-tune the balance of freedom and rights.
No government should exercise excessive power to hinder such a basic right. As long as the people know how to handle various kinds of public speech - bad or good - the authorities do not need to get involved.
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