Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday insisted Facebook must abide by Thai law after the social media giant's threat to sue the government for blocking access to accounts deemed defamatory to the monarchy.
Prayut responded to Facebook's legal threat by saying that all parties must observe the laws of Thailand.
He referred to the Royalist Marketplace page on Facebook operated by Pavin Chachavalpongpun and the Facebook page of Somsak Jeamteerasakul, both of which have sensitive content related to the monarchy.
Mr Somsak, a former Thammasat lecturer, now lives in self-exile in France after fleeing lese majeste charges in Thailand and Mr Pavin, who now works as a university lecturer in Japan, is also wanted for lese majeste violations.
Prayut reacted defiantly during a visit to Rayong. "You know who and where these people are. Do they take responsibility for the damage to our country? No matter what happens in Thailand, they are not affected at all. The trouble is in Thailand," he said.
"All actions against offending pages comply with Thai law. I do not use any dictatorial power that I no longer have to close them. These actions are based on court orders," he said.
The premier was reacting against a Facebook statement concerning its action against those sensitive pages following a request from the Thai government.
In the statement quoted by a spokesperson sent to local media on Tuesday, Facebook said it was compelled to restrict access to content deemed illegal by the Thai government.
The social media platform late on Monday blocked access to the "Royalist Marketplace" group after the government threatened legal action over failure to take down content deemed defamatory to the monarchy.
"Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves,'' it insisted.
According to the statement, Facebook was committed to protecting and defending the rights of internet users and "preparing to legally challenge this request".
It pointed out excessive actions by the government had an impact on its ability to "reliably invest in Thailand, including maintaining our office, safeguarding our employees and directly supporting businesses that rely on Facebook".
Hours before the restrictions, Mr Pavin set up a new group with a similar name that gained more than half a million members in one day. "If you want to close it down again, then I'll set up another group. To promote freedom of expression, I would do it," Mr Pavin told Reuters.
