Thailand Blocks YouTube Over Insults to the King

Via Physorg.com -

Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, the country's minister of information and technology, said YouTube had turned down his request to remove the contentious 44-second video, which shows graffitti-like elements painted over a slideshow of photographs of 79-year-old King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

One part of the clip juxtaposes pictures of feet over the king's image - a major taboo in a culture where feet are considered extremely dirty and offensive. The soundtrack is the Thai national anthem. "We are disappointed that YouTube has been blocked in Thailand, and we are currently looking into the matter," Julie Supan, a spokeswoman for Google Inc.'s YouTube, said in an e-mail.

According to Sitthichai, thousands of people have called the government to complain about the YouTube video. Sitthichai said Thailand's military-installed government also has blocked other sites deemed insulting to the king.

"People who create these (Web sites) are abusing their rights and clearly don't mean well for the country," Sitthichai said. "We have closed many and will continue to."

Thailand has no comprehensive law governing the Internet, and limits governing use and censorship are not clearly defined.

It's not entirely clear how the government was implementing the block. Domestic service providers are generally given lists of sites to block, but the control may be occurring at the government-owned gateways through which all Internet service providers are supposed to funnel data entering and leaving the country.

Blocking YouTube, of course, won't prevent someone from e-mailing the video or posting it on a Web site that is less popular and thus less noticed by the government. But any hurdles, even if they aren't foolproof, are likely to accomplish the government's goals, said Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University.

"A lot of the time, the viral spread happens because it's just one click away," Zittrain said. "If you make something not one click away anymore, you can slow it down a little bit."