Thailand launches probe against Facebook for removing army-linked accounts

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha on Wednesday lambasted Facebook for removing the military-linked accounts, adding that he has asked the Royal Thai Army to probe into the matter. The Thai leader accused the tech giant of interference with the Thailand army accounts, and not following the ‘Thai law’. This wouldn’t be the first time when Chan-Ocha and Zuckerberg launched had a back-and-forth related to information and accounts regulation on Facebook. Earlier, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg threatened to sue the Thai government for removing accounts that insulted the monarchy, citing the government’s violation of freedom of expression. 

In the latest spat, Facebook proactively took down 185 army-related accounts and groups, accusing Thailand’s army of indulging in ‘information-influencing operations’ in the nation. Stirred at Facebook’s recent provocations and removal of armed forces accounts, Thailand’s Prime Minister asked Facebook to clarify the reason. “Facebook took action like this. It can be interpreted in many ways. We must make it clear,” Prayuth said in a statement, cited by The Associated Press. 

In its response, however, the social media corp issued a statement saying that Thailand’s army accounts violated the policy of government interference, “which is defined as coordinated inauthentic behaviour on behalf of a government entity.” Additionally, it added that the network of accounts targeted Thailand’s southern provinces, where the army faces a longstanding insurgency movement. Thailand’s southern province is one of the most lethal conflict zones in Southeast Asia where on average 32 people are shot and 58 wounded each month due to counterinsurgency operations.

The network of accounts removed used both authentic and fake accounts to post news and current events in Thai, particularly support for the  Thai military and the monarchy, Facebook said. These pages hurled allegations of violence by the insurgent groups in southern Thailand and criticism of separatist and independence movements, according to Facebook’s report. 

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“Although the people behind it attempted to conceal their identities and coordination, our investigation found links to the Thai military’s Internal Security Operations Command,” Facebook said.

Trained army officers for 'PR only'

In response to Facebook’s report, Thailand’s military issued a statement saying that it trained officers to conduct the PR-related work for the Thai Army and had no participation in launching an information operation in the nation. However, at least 3 activists including Yingcheep Atchanont, Sarinee Achavanuntakul, and Winyu John Wongsurawat, filed a lawsuit against the army in the Administrative Court in Bangkok against Royal Thai Army’s information operation as “victims”. They alleged that the army launched an information operation against Thai civilians and they wanted to approach Facebook and the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression. An opposition politician meanwhile accused the Thai Army of misusing funds to launch a smear campaign against opposition leaders. The army responded by saying it just trains its officers to promote a positive image for the armed forces. 

“The army has no authority to commit such information operations,” Yingcheep told  AP. “The government should protect people who want to express their opinions, not create propaganda and attack those who have differing views.” 

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