<div><strong>Eight persons linked to a satirical Facebook community page were charged with sedition and computer crimes on 28 April. They are scheduled to appear in a military court on 3 July. </strong></div>

<p dir="ltr">In light of recent concerns of online security, and after talks with an IT security specialist, it appears that Thai netizens should be more concerned with personal data breaches of their own cause, rather than security breaches of the social media platforms they use.</p>

<div> <div>The military has gone to a new level by intimidating a pro-democracy Buddhist monk at his temple.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Thursday, 12 May 2016, Phraiwan Wannabut revealed on Facebook and to Prachatai that the military had visited him at his temple more than five times and will come again this Saturday.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Each time, the military take photos of the monk and plead with the monk to stop all political activities, including writing articles and Facebook posts, and also offer him lunch. </div></div>

<div> <div> <div>Facebook has rebutted Thai Facebook users’ concerns that the company has compromised its privacy policy to the Thai government, following the arrests of online activists charged with private Facebook chat content.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On Tuesday, 10 May 2016, Facebook insisted that it never provides user information and does not cooperate with the Thai junta’s censorship practice, rejecting the allegations in the past few weeks that Facebook has supported the junta in the recent cyber crackdown against the junta critics, <a> </a></div></div></div>

<div>Thai academics and activists have announced that they will deactivate their Facebook accounts as a protest against Facebook Thailand for its compromise with the junta on censorship. </div>

<p>In the first apparent acknowledgement it is cooperating with Thai authorities in censoring content, Facebook has blocked its users in Thailand from accessing a page satirizing Thailand’s Royal Family, citing local laws.</p> <p>Facebook users in Thailand on Thursday discovered that they can no longer view a satirical page which occasionally lampoons the monarchy.&nbsp;</p>

<div> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5f757669-fdf8-604b-57b3-8555cda0a698">A programmer suspected of lèse majesté has denied the charges, saying that a copycat Facebook account falsely used his photo as profile picture and defamed the King, according to&nbsp;</span><a href="http://freedom.ilaw.or.th/en/case/645">iLaw</a>.&nbsp;</p> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-5f757669-fdf8-604b-57b3-8555cda0a698">Piya J., a programmer, on Monday denied the lèse majesté allegations against him during the deposition hearing at Ratchadaphisek Criminal Court. &nbsp;</span></p> </div>

<div> <div>Three lèse majesté suspects accused of being involved in a copycat lèse majesté Facebook page were released on Tuesday morning after being detained for almost three months. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The three are Jaruwan E., 26, Anon, 22, and Chat, 20. The three were accused of using a Facebook page under the real name of Jaruwan to defame the King. </div></div>

<div>Thai police recently arrested a man solely for Facebook messages sent to another lèse majesté suspect in military custody.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The man claimed the messages were merely an exchange of views about politics, but the police said he was supplying lèse majesté content to another suspect through the chat and that they were part of the “movement” to defame the monarchy on Facebook. &nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Jamroen S., a 59-year-old civil servant, was arrested in early January by the military and police. </div>

<div>The Thai authorities have revealed that they have invited representatives of Facebook in Thailand to discuss measures to prevent content defaming the Thai King on Facebook and how to have them prosecuted.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Thakorn Tantasith, Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), told reporters on Sunday that NBTC has invited the Thailand representatives of the social network company to a talk on Monday.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Thakorn said he wants Facebook head office to respect Thailand’s Article 112, or the lèse majesté law </div>

<div> <div>The military on Friday filed a police complaint against a man for posting lèse majesté messages on Facebook, <a href="http://www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1418379487">Matichon Online</a> reported.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Lt Col Burin Thongprapai of the military’s Judge Advocate General’s Office on Friday accused Jatsadakorn D., 24, of violating Article 112 of the Criminal Code or the lèse majesté law. </div></div>

<div> <div>Somsak Jeamteerasakul, a renowned anti-coup and anti-lèse majesté law historian on Saturday morning returned to his popular Facebook profile for the first time since his disappearance after the coup in 22 May.&nbsp;</div> </div>