The user-generated map featured the full names, addresses, professions and alleged offenses of more than 400 people, including many students and some activists. It also included their photos, with a black box over their eyes and the number 112: a reference to Thailand’s strict lèse-majesté laws that make insulting or defaming the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
“This was a witch hunt map,” Sunai said. “It could lead to physical danger against people who are marked.”
HRW received reports about the map from many people on Monday, some of whom were included in the map and frantically seeking legal advice, he added.
By Monday night, Google had taken down two versions of the map, Reuters reported.
“The issue is now fixed,” Google said in a statement. “We have clear policies about what’s acceptable for user generated My Maps content. We remove user generated maps that violate our policies.”
The company did not respond to specific questions about when it learned of the maps or what it would do to prevent similar incidents.
The maps are the work of a right-wing royalist activist, Songklod “Pukem” Chuenchoopol, who told Reuters that he and a team of 80 volunteers planned to report everyone on them to police for insulting the monarchy.
“When each of us sees something offensive posted on social media, we put it on the map,” he said, adding that the maps were also a “psychological” warfare operation intended to dissuade people from criticizing the monarchy online.
Though right-wing organizations had published the information of free speech activists in the past, the maps appeared to be the first time that various royalist groups banded together to target their opponents, Sunai said.
Thailand considers itself a constitutional monarchy, though the palace retains wide-ranging powers and is deeply embedded in the economic and cultural fabric of the country.
Over the past year, tens of thousands of protesters — many of them students — took to the streets to demand reforms. They were greeted with a crackdown by the military-backed government.
“More and more [people] have spoken about the need to reform the monarchy in order for Thailand to have genuine democracy,” Sunai said, adding that they have faced prosecution in the courts and vigilante harassment by royalists.
HRW had seen an increase in the number of people charged with insulting the monarchy this year, including children as young as 14 years old. One of Thailand’s most prominent opposition leaders has been charged under the law for questioning a deal in which an obscure company owned by the King manufactures coronavirus vaccines.
In some cases, royalist groups have “roughed people up” and forced them to apologize to portraits of the king, Sunai said.
“They are expected to be part of the censorship,” Sunai said of social media companies in Thailand, citing the government’s recent threat to sue Facebook for not shutting down certain accounts. “On the other hand, there are demands for social media platform providers to serve as the last breathing space for free speech in Thailand.”
Google had done the right thing by taking down the maps on Monday, Sunai said.
“The question is how long they can withstand these pressures,” he added.
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June 29, 2021 at 04:17PM
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Google takes down maps made by Thai right-wingers targeting free speech activists - The Washington Post
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