Say what??
You couldn’t make this up, but…
Thailand is suing YouTube (a.k.a Google) over the recent video clip saga
Sitthichai Phokai-udom, the minister of information and communications technology, told The Associated Press that a suit would be lodged with a Thai court next week on charges of lese majeste, or offense against the monarchy, which is a crime in Thailand.
Update
Seems the English Premiership is suing YouTube. I bet the lawyers are all booking their place in the queue for a new supercar, as they will be the only winners in both cases.
Now this brings up an interesting legal dilemma, and questions that first pop in my head are:
– Was the crime commited in Thailand, if so, does Lese Majeste apply?
– What are the views of His Majesty?
– How much is being set aside in legal fees? Would this money come from the taxpayer, if so surely the money would be better spent elsewhere (Dengue fever treatment and flood displacement comes to mind)
– Is this some pubicity stunt? Suing Google???
– Is the charge against the poster or Google as the parent owner of YouTube.com.
I know this is serious, but I couldn’t help laughing. It might turn out to be fun, you know.
Well, it’s a silly law to start with. This is the 21st century. People should have the right to free speech. You can’t force respect on to people. A crime to say anything against the Monarchy? C’mon!
As for the legal aspect, YouTube servers are hosted in USA, where thankfully it’s not a crime.
I don’t think google would care though. Nobody gives junta government respect anymore
Google and YouTube have a hefty legal representation to deal with these kinds of things already… considering that there are so many charges pending both Google and YouTube over copyrights issues left and right in the US… this law suit from this little Thai government would hardly make any dent…
more of a publicity stunt on Sitthichai’s part, it seems… though it’s not gonna be effective since it’s pretty much just a copycat reaction, imho.