Thai military government committee asks Google to remove illegal content

Officials from a Thai government censorship committee have asked Google to immediately remove online content which the government considers illegal, Khaosod English online reported.

The request came in a meeting near the end of January between Google’s legal representatives and the military government panel, according to a document leaked last week by Thai internet freedom advocates.

The document, which contains officials’ signatures, describes the meeting between Google Vice President General Counsel Matt Sucherman and the “Media Reform Committee” as it called itself.

As the leak shows, the internet giant said it would not make an exception to its policy which states that content can only be taken down once it has received a legal order from a court.

However, the military junta officials asked that Google remove content without a court order.

“We would like Google to expedite the process of website removal once it is requested by qualified authorities to save from the possible damage of time, as it will not correct the situation if we wait for the court process,” the document quoted the committee as saying.

The officials added that they would seek to boost the firm’s business in Thailand, according to Khaosod English.

The leak came only hours before cyber activists tied to the Anonymous hacker group shut down 20 Department of Corrections sites last Thursday morning, according to Khaosod English.

Members of Anonymous, posting on a Facebook page, claimed responsibility for the hack, which had disabled most of the 20 websites until late Thursday afternoon.