"Fake News" Legislation in Thailand: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Abstract

Thailand, as with some of its ASEAN partners, is using cybercrime legislation to prosecute those spreading "fake news". Thailand took legislative action by amending the 2007 Computer Crime Act in 2017. The new Act makes it an offence to use a computer system in a way likely to "cause damage to the maintenance of national security, public safety, national economic security, or infrastructure for the common good of the Nation, or to cause panic amongst the public". The amended legislation also created a computer data screening panel, which monitors the internet for “fake news”. Probably a greater threat to personal freedom is individuals and organisations that surf the internet looking for posts that conflict with their point of view and then take legal action so that the supposed perpetrators are prosecuted and probably persecuted as well. Truth is not necessarily a defence. The lèse-majesté legislation, as set out in the Constitution and the Criminal Code, makes it an offence to criticise the Crown. This is supported by the anti-defamation law which allows for civil and criminal remedies. This paper dissects the legislation and shows how it can be misused to persecute those critical of the government or private enterprises.