Thailand lifts 4-month ban on YouTube
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The Thai government said Friday it has lifted a four-month ban on YouTube after the popular video-sharing Web site's operator agreed not to allow videos that violate the country's laws or are deemed offensive to Thai people.
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A court ordered access to YouTube's Web site blocked Wednesday after a prosecutor recommended the ban because of videos allegedly insulting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
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Thailand's army-appointed cabinet agreed on Tuesday to let political parties resume activities, a government spokesman said days after ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's was disbanded.
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Thailand was back to work as normal on   Thursday, just 36 hours after a military coup that was   condemned abroad but legitimized by the royal palace and   greeted by many Thais with relief.
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(InfoWorld) - A press advocacy group is "dismayed" about Google's decision to block YouTube videos from viewers in Thailand that are considered inappropriate or illegal by that Asian government. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), calling Google's reported agreement with the Thai government "a censorship deal," said on Wednesday that the move creates "a dangerous precedent, which could have global implications for freedom of expression." "There is a clear potential for abuse of people's right to information, which seems much more likely now [that] Google has demonstrated its willingness to collude with governments to effectively censor information," IFJ Asia-Pacific Director Jacqueline Park said in a statement. The Thailand Embassy in Washington, D.C., didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. On Friday and during the weekend, various news outlets reported from Bangkok that Thailand had lifted a five-month ban on YouTube for its residents after Google agreed to block videos the government finds objectionable. In an article posted Friday, the International Herald Tribune quoted Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, Thailand's minister of information and communications technology, as saying that YouTube had agreed to block clips deemed offensive to Thai culture or that violate Thai law. People accessing YouTube from outside of Thailand will be able to view the videos blocked in that country, the minister told the International Herald Tribune. Thailand blocked all access to Google's YouTube, the world's most popular video-sharing site, in early April after someone posted a video the government considered insulting to the country's king. YouTube is "pleased to hear" that access to its site has been reinstated in Thailand, a YouTube spokesman said via e-mail Wednesday. "We appreciate the constructive dialogue we have had with the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) Ministry.Â YouTube remains committed to removing videos when they violate our content policies, and we will continue to work closely with authorities in Thailand," the YouTube spokesman wrote. YouTube has taken steps to make sure that its users in Thailand will not be able to access videos that have been identified as violating the country's laws, he confirmed. Asked if YouTube's parent company had any reaction to the IFJ's criticism, he said the question should answered by a Google official. At press time, no one from Google had responded to this question. Those found guilty of offending the monarchy face serious penalties in Thailand. Days before the YouTube incident, a Swiss national living in Thailand got slapped with a 10-year jail sentence for defacing images of the king. This is the latest incident in which Google and other providers of Internet services, such as Yahoo and Microsoft, find themselves criticized for censorship by human rights organizations, press advocacy groups, U.S. legislators, and shareholders. For example, several Internet companies have been criticized for agreeing to censor content in their China sites and search engines that the Chinese government finds objectionable. Yahoo in particular has been blasted often for cooperating with the Chinese governmentÂ and providing information that has led to the arrest of dissidents and journalists. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others invariably defend themselves saying that they must comply with the local laws of the countries in which they do business and that governments must collaborate to establish international standards of operation. "We always welcome constructive discussions with local governments around the world on similar issues. We are committed to addressing these questions in ways that both respect relevant laws and cultural concerns and are consistent with our global content policies," the YouTube spokesman wrote. When it comes to content that may break local laws, YouTube works with local authorities to resolve the issues. "We think this approach strikes the right balance betweenÂ freedom of expression and respect for local law," he wrote. Thailand recently introduced the Computer Crime Act, which gives authorities the power to seize the computers of people suspected of accessing or creating content deemed insulting or pornographic, according to the IFJ. Activist, social worker and webmaster Sombat Bun-ngam-anong is currently serving a 12-day detention order for alleged defamation for violating the Act, the IFJ said in Wednesday's statement. Also on Wednesday, Reporters Without Borders, another international press watchdog group, reported that a Thai blogger named Pichai has been reportedly detained for the past 12 days, also for violating the Act, which this group says took effect on July 18. The blogger's arrest "confirms our fears about the dangers of a law that is supposed to combat pornography but turns out to be a way of restricting and controlling press freedom," Reporters Without Borders charged.
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The Thai national assembly has passed into law the nation's first bill outlawing marital rape.
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Thailand faced an uncertain political future Thursday after a top court banned ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his party from contesting promised elections later this year.
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(InfoWorld) - YouTube said it is ready to discuss copyright issues with some of Japan's largest producers of video content afterÂ they complainedÂ earlier this month about the amount of their material on the popular video Web site. A group of 23 Japanese entertainment industry associations and broadcasters sent a letter to YouTube management at the beginning of December demanding the site do more to stop users uploading copyrighted material. In the letter the groupÂ requested a reply by Dec. 15, and that arrived over the weekend. "They said they are considering visiting Japan to discuss the issue," said Satoshi Watanabe, manager of the transmission rights department at the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers. JASRAC sent the letter on behalf of the other companies and associations. The reply, which was signed by YouTube Chief Executive Officer Chad Hurley and Chief Technology Officer Steven Chen, also said YouTube is prepared to post a notice in Japanese to Japanese users of the site warning them against uploading copyrighted content, said Watanabe. At present YouTube presents a message in English only but the Japanese rights holders asked in their letter than a Japanese-language notice be posted on the site. YouTube also said it will improve its user authentication procedures, Watanabe said. He declined to provide a copy of the reply. JASRAC has sent the reply to the other 22 signatories of the original complaint. These include the Motion Picture Producers' Association of Japan Inc., the Japan Video Software Association, the Association of Japanese Animations, all of the major commercial TV broadcasters, the Japan Satellite Broadcasting Association, the Recording Industry Association of Japan and Yahoo Japan Corp. The group will likely hold a meeting later this week to discuss the reply and what to do next. The complaint was sent about two months afterÂ YouTube deleted almost 30,000 Japanese video clipsÂ on receipt of a complaint from rights holders in Japan. However almost immediately after the deletion new clips of TV shows, music videos and movies began appearing on YouTube. YouTube currently deals with copyright infringement issues by asking rights holders to send complaints in written form by postal mail, e-mail or fax with details of the clips said to infringe copyright, and other documents. The Japanese rights holders are calling for YouTube to create an alternative to this procedure that will utilize technology to identify infringing clips as they are uploaded or published. Â
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BANGKOK, Thailand  -- Thailand's military council on Sunday issued new orders intended to stave off any possible opposition to their coup, banning political activities at the district and provincial levels.
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By Aranee Jaiimsin, Bangkok Post, Thailand  Feb.
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The online video site had been blocked because it had carried material seen as insulting to the countryâs king.
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International press freedom watchdogs have condemned the media restrictions imposed by Thailand's military coup leaders, and called for them to be lifted immediately.
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Illegal stunts in cars, joyriding,  bullying and political dissent -- video-sharing Web site  YouTube has taken off in Saudi Arabia.
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Thailand's ruling generals are set to impose tough new curbs on the media, including a ban on expressions of public opinion, as they tightened their grip on power two days after a bloodless coup.
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Blog: YouTube suspending accounts over age limits.
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KOCHI, India  - A court in India on Friday lifted   a state ban on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo drinks, which had been   imposed after an environmental group said they contained unsafe   levels of pesticides.
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(InfoWorld) - Top executives from YouTube are due in Tokyo next week for talks with some of Japan's largest video content producers over copyrighted material available on the popular site. The meeting is due to take place Tuesday, just over two months after a group of Japanese content producersÂ sent a letter of complaintÂ to YouTube, urging the company to do more to keep copyrighted material off its service. YouTube CEO Chad Hurley and Chief Technology Officer Steve Chen are among those due at the talks, said a spokesman for the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). JASRAC sent the original complaint, which carried its signature along with that of 22 other companies and groups. Among the signatories were all of Japan's TV networks, the Motion Picture Producers' Association of Japan, the Recording Industry Association of Japan, and Yahoo Japan. The complainants are unhappy about the amount of their content available on YouTube. They demanded in the original letter that YouTube make it easier and quicker for content to be removed once it has been identified as violating copyright, and for the company to make it tougher for users to upload copyrighted material. YouTube respondedÂ to the complaint in mid-December and said they could visit Japan to discuss the issue. The letter indicated that YouTube is keen to work with the content providers because it is interested in starting a business in Japan, according to JASRAC. The December complaint followedÂ YouTube's deletionÂ of just under 30,000 files that violated the copyright of Japanese rights holders. The files were discovered during a five-day audit of YouTube in October. However, as soon as the files were deleted, new unauthorized content started appearing.