SINGAPORE/BANGKOK: 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.
Youth-led protests that began last year brought unprecedented criticism of the monarchy and calls for its reform both on the streets and online.
The government did not immediately respond to comment on the removal of the Google Maps or the content they contained.
Songklod, 54, a retired army captain and prominent right-wing activist, said he considered the operation targeting opponents of the monarchy a "massive success" despite the removal of the maps.
The royalist activist said the content in them had come from public research.
Human rights groups and critics of the establishment said the maps included the private data and addresses of hundreds of people and could put them at risk of violence.
"I started to get panicked messages from young people in Thailand who had been doxxed in a royalist document on Google Maps accusing them of being anti-monarchy," said Andrew MacGregor Marshall, a Scotland-based critic of the monarchy and one of the earliest to highlight the existence of the maps.
"It’s clear that young Thai people who just want democracy are facing worsening risks."
Google takes down maps targeting hundreds of Thais accused of opposing king
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Google takes down maps targeting hundreds of Thais accused of opposing king
- Google took down two Google Maps documents that had listed the names and addresses of hundreds of Thai activists accused by royalists of opposing the monarchy.
Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
- Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
- Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
