A man in Thailand was sentenced to 70 years in prison for a facebook post. He is in company with over 100 others who have been sentenced to lèse majesté, insulting the monarch.
This comes at a time when military leaders in Thailand are forging ahead with censorship measures of the internet, but is the strictest sentence to date. Many are begging the question, is this a human rights violation? Doesn't social media represent freedom of speech?
Unfortunately, it countries like Thailand, government censorship is on the rise, cutting back significantly on digital players like Facebook and YouTube, who have been actively removing content over the last year. Not only will these companies suffer from reduced revenue-driving tactics from ad sales, but they will also have limited user base potential. Many view social media and video outlets as an opportunity for free speech and self-expression, but many will opt against this in an environment where there is severe monitoring.
Social Media companies will continue to be at risk for being the middle-man in government investigations and activity. Unfortunately, legislation is not keeping up with hardware or software development and creates an opportunity gap of protection for the users and the companies.
Tech Crunch - Thailand Man jailed for Facebook post
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