Skip to main content

Google takes down maps targeting hundreds of Thais accused of opposing king

 Google took down two Google Maps documents on Monday that had listed the names and addresses of hundreds of Thai activists who were accused by royalists of opposing the monarchy

Google Maps

SINGAPORE/BANGKOK (Reuters) – Google took down two Google Maps documents on Monday that had listed the names and addresses of hundreds of Thai activists who were accused by royalists of opposing the monarchy, the technology company said. Thai royalist activist Songklod “Pukem” Chuenchoopol told Reuters he and a team of 80 volunteers had created the maps and planned to report everyone named on them to police on accusations of insulting the monarchy.

A spokesperson for Alphabet’s Google said by email “the issue is now fixed”, and noted: “We have clear policies about what’s acceptable for user generated My Maps content. We remove user generated maps that violate our policies.” A version of one of the maps seen by Reuters included the names and addresses of nearly 500 people, many of them students, together with their photos in university or high school uniforms. It had received over 350,000 views.

The faces of those named had been covered by black squares with the number 112, in reference to the article under the country’s criminal code which makes insulting or defaming the monarchy punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Neither map could be accessed when Reuters tried to open them late on Monday. Songklod said that he and the team of volunteers sought to highlight those they accused of breaking that law. “When each of us sees something offensive posted on social media, we put it on the map,” he said. Describing it as a “psychological” warfare operation, Songklod said the aim was to dissuade people from online criticism of the monarchy…Read More


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Unconventional Workout and Sporting Activities for Summer

In summers, depending upon conditions and circumstances one can incorporate both outdoor  and indoor activities in their training schedule.   Summer is the season of holidays, picnics, outings and beaches. With travel and binge eating proper workout becomes that much more essential in summers. But with heat and the sun outdoors, an individual has to balance his indoor and outdoor activities to get a fulfilling workout. In summers, depending upon conditions and circumstances one can incorporate both outdoor and indoor activities in their training schedule. Mentioned below are some of the best physical and sporting activities that one can use as a workout to stay fit in the summer season. Beach Sports - If in summers one is going to spend much time on beaches or at a beach destination then one may use beach sporting activities such as beach rugby, beach soccer, beach tennis and beach volleyball to stay fit. All of these sporting activities on sand provide a ...

Crypto exchange Binance temporarily suspends payments from EU's key network

  Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will temporarily suspend euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s key payments networks, it said in an email sent to users (Reuters) -Cryptocurrency exchange Binance will temporarily suspend euro bank deposits from one of Europe’s key payments networks, it said in an email sent to users on Tuesday. The email said that from 8 a.m. universal coordinated time on Wednesday, customers would no longer be able to deposit funds through the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA, schemes. The move was due to “events beyond our control”, the exchange said in the email. “Any deposits attempted via SEPA in the meantime will be returned within 7 working days. SEPA withdrawals are unaffected by this suspension”, Binance said. The development was reported earlier by the Financial Times. The network, which is a European Union project that aims to harmonise euro payments across the region, allows consumers to send euros across three dozen countries. Binance typically ac...

‘Farmers will get justice’, says member of SC panel on farm laws Ghanwat

  Included in the four-member committee set-up by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the farmers agitating over the new farm laws, Anil Ghanwat said that “protesting farmers will get justice” Included in the four-member committee set-up by the Supreme Court to hold talks with the farmers agitating over the new farm laws, Anil Ghanwat on Tuesday said that “protesting farmers will get justice.” The Supreme Court on January 12 stayed the implementation of three farm laws and tasked the committee of experts to listen to grievances of the farmers on the farm laws and the views of the government and submit its report to the court within two months. Anil Ghanwat, president of the Shetkari Sanghatana, a Maharashtra-based  farmer organisation  told ANI, “This movement should stop somewhere and a law should be made in the interest of farmers. First we need to listen to farmers, if they had some misconception about Minimum Support Price (MSP) and Agricultural Produce Market Commit...