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Charles McDermid

Facebook will block foreign electoral ads in Thailand in the run-up to the country’s March 24 election, a move some observers claimed will benefit the country’s ruling military junta. The site, however, insisted the measures were “unrelated to a government request”.
The social media site on Thursday said it has expanded enforcement in Thailand to protect “the integrity of elections while making sure people can have a voice in the political process”.
Facebook and its subsidiary WhatsApp have promised to get tougher on “fake news” that could influence this year’s elections in Asia.


The ban in Thailand is expected to take effect in mid-February and will apply to all electoral ads run by advertisers based outside the country. Both “automated and human review” will be used to identify the unwelcome ads.
“Learning from every election over the last two years, we have increased our capabilities to take down fake accounts, reduce false news, disrupt bad actors, support an informed and engaged electorate, and increase ads transparency,” said Katie Harbath, Facebook’s director of global politics and government outreach.
It would be interesting to know if Facebook acquiesced to a junta censorship request
Shawn Crispin, Committee to Protect Journalists
The restrictions in Thailand will apply to foreign ads that “contain references to politicians, parties, ‘getting out the vote’ and/or election suppression”. Foreign ads with political slogans and party logos will also be blocked.
Last year, Facebook banned foreign groups buying ads related to an abortion referendum in Ireland. It also previously banned foreign election ads in Nigeria and Ukraine.
Thailand’s ruling junta faces its first general election since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 2014.
Facebook, Whatsapp target fake news for Asia’s election season, but is it too little, too late?
The military government last week imposed stringent restrictions on the use of social media campaigning. The crackdown was denounced by the opposition and youth groups.
The March vote is expected to be heavily influenced by young Thais. Voters aged 18-35 make up more than 25 per cent of the electorate of about 50 million. In 2017, the Thai junta threatened Facebook with legal action unless it removed posts critical of the monarchy but later backed down.
In 2016, Reuters reported Thailand’s military government tried to persuade Facebook to comply with court orders to remove content it considered harmful to peace and order. The government has also blocked thousands of websites hosting anti-monarchy content, according to the news agency.
“Thailand’s military regime has a minuscule social media presence compared to the democratic opposition and clearly recognises the upcoming election will be largely won or lost online,” said Shawn Crispin, the Southeast Asia representative at the Committee to Protect Journalists.
He pointed out that there could be as many as 6 million first-time voters at the upcoming polls.
Thailand sets March 24 as date of first election since Shinawatra coup
“This new generation is known to take its cues from social media influencers. Facebook’s ban on electoral ads will thus likely help the junta’s proxy party and hurt the more social media-savvy opposition,” Crispin said from Bangkok. “It would be interesting to know if Facebook acquiesced to a junta censorship request in making this decision.”
A Facebook spokesperson told the South China Morning Post the measures were not in response to any pressure or request from the junta.
“This is consistent with our approach to elections around the world. It is unrelated to a government request,” the spokesperson said.

Facebook recently announced it would roll out new election policies in India, which goes to the polls in April and May – and is Facebook’s biggest national market outside the US. The company said it would enforce tougher rules in India on political advertising and election interference.
The company at the time said it was looking into doing the same in other Asian nations, taking into account different threats and local laws. Facebook has 917 million monthly users in the Asia-Pacific, including 394 million in Southeast Asia.
Thai election: can Shinawatras keep it in the family, again?
“We now have more than 30,000 people working on safety and security across the company, three times as many as we had in 2017,” Harbath said in the statement. “We have dedicated teams working on every upcoming election around the world, including Thailand.
“Building on the work of the last few months and to better coordinate the work in the final weeks before elections in Asia-Pacific, we are planning to set up new regional operations centres, focused on election integrity, including one in Singapore.”


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Thailand

Facebook blocks foreign ads before Thai election amid fears junta will benefit

FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

FILE - In this Nov. 15, 2018, file photo, Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha gestures the Thai way shortly after accepting the ASEAN Summit and Related Summits' hosting and chairmanship for next year in Thailand, in Singapore. A political party closely associated with Thailand's military government on Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019, named Prayuth as a possible candidate to become the next premier if it forms a government after next month's election. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez, File)

Facebook, WhatsApp target fake news for Asia’s election season, but is it too little, too late?

(FILES) This file photo taken March 26, 2018 shows commuters waiting for the train in-front of a public service announcement that reads "sharing a lie makes you a liar" at a train station in downtown Kuala Lumpur Governments across Asia are pushing laws to fight "fake news" after taking inspiration from US President Donald Trump, alarming activists who fear the legislation will be used to curb press freedoms and dissent. / AFP PHOTO / Mohd RASFAN

This picture taken on December 18, 2018 shows Myanmar youths browsing their Facebook page at an internet shop in Yangon. - Facebook has removed hundreds of additional pages and accounts in Myanmar with hidden links to the military, the platform said on December 19, as the company scrambles to respond to criticism over failures to control hate speech and misinformation. (Photo by Sai Aung MAIN / AFP)

91% of internet users in Myanmar use Facebook. The Tatmadaw (Myanmar Military) took to the site, inciting genocide against the Muslim Rohingya. Craig Mod, The Atlantic

Katie Harbath, director of global politics and government outreach at Facebook. Photo: Handout

Photo: Reuters

Facebook is to roll out its new fake news policies in India, which goes to the polls in April and May. Photo: AFP

With a new king, will 2019 herald a new political normal for Thailand?

This photo taken on March 13, 2018 shows Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of new Thai political party Future Forward, contemplates a question during an interview at his home in Bangkok. A 39-year-old business tycoon entered Thailand's political bear-pit on Thursday with the launch of a new progressive party, courting the youth vote in a kingdom plagued by coups and corruption. / AFP PHOTO / LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA

Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a protest at Suvarnabhumi international airport in Bangkok on November 25, 2008. Rampaging anti-government protesters forced the closure of Thailand's main international airport as a second day of demonstrations in Bangkok descended into violence with 11 injured in clashes. AFP PHOTO/Pornchai KITTIWONGSAKUL

epa03970972 Red Shirt pro-Thaksin supporters cheer after the constitution court ruling, during their rally in support of the government at Rajamangala National Staduim in Bangkok, Thailand, 30 November 2013. Thousands of Red Shirt protesters rally to show their support for Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government, while thousands of anti-government protesters rally against the government and occupy strategic areas of the Thai capital. EPA/PONGMANAT TASIRI

epa07247505 Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha (C) receives flowers from supporters during his visit to a community in Samut Prakan province, Thailand, 24 December 2018. Prayut, the junta leader and premier, declared he is now a politician and hinted he may be ready to return as prime minister after the election slated for 24 February 2019. EPA-EFE/STR THAILAND OUT

Pheu Thai party legal head Chusak Sirinul (R) speaks to a Thai police officer (L) during an attempt to stop the press conference as party officials, acting general secretary Phumtham Wechayachai (2nd R) and Noppadol Patama (3rd R) looks on at the party headquarters in Bangkok on May 17, 2018, ahead of the fourth anniversary of the May 22 Thai military coup. The Thai political party pushed out in a coup nearly four years ago blasted the regime's peformance on May 17 while shrugging off the junta's attempt to court its longtime base as elections near. / AFP PHOTO / Lillian SUWANRUMPHA

This photo received from Japan's Asahi Shimbun taken on March 29, 2018 shows former Thai prime ministers Thaksin Shinawatra (L) and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra (R) smiling as they attend a social event in Tokyo. The exiled pair, former premiers and siblings Yingluck and Thaksin Shinawatra, made a rare public appearance at a book launch for a Japanese minister in Tokyo on March 29. It was one of Yingluck's first public sightings since she fled Thailand in August 2017 ahead of a verdict in a court case she decried as a political witch-hunt. JAPAN OUT / AFP PHOTO / ASAHI SHIMBUN / Yasuhiro SUGIMOTO / Japan OUT / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / ASAHI SHIMBUN / YASUHIRO SUGIMOTO"

Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has called an election for February 24, but the coronation of the king may delay it for a few months. Photo: EPA

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The junta, led by Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, had asked Facebook to remove content on previous occasions
There are concerns Facebook’s ban on electoral ads could hurt the more social media-savvy opposition


Thailand’s ruling junta faces its first general election since seizing power in a bloodless coup in 2014. There are concerns Facebook’s ban could hurt the more social media-savvy opposition
