Thailand Butts Heads with YouTube

The Bangkok Post reports:

Department of Special Investigation under the Justice Ministry is seeking a court order to block clips recently posted on video-sharing website YouTube that accuse Privy Council president Prem Tinsulanonda of masterminding the Sept 19 coup.

I am not certain how long the videos will remain accessible, but here is a link.

Thailand has struggled with the use of new media recently. Several months ago, YouTube was blocked in Thailand, supposedly because of some videos poking fun at the country’s revered monarch. Critics of Thailand’s current government site the fact that the site was blocked because there were too many videos of the military coup, which took place a few days before the videos attacking the king were posted.

Some of the more paranoid members of the current administration accuse the tech-savvy supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for posting the recent videos. Thanksin is still actively seeking a return to power. His supporters have often accused Prem Tinsulanonda of misusing his power during the coup. However, this is the first time the accusations have reached the internet.

Since last year’s coup, journalists and human rights organizations have criticized Thailand for their lack of press freedom.

Prince Versus YouTube

The artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince is mad. He’s ready to dish out some justice. Sure, no one is going to be too scared of his five-foot, ninety pound frame. That is until his massive bodyguards enter the room…escorting his high priced, ruthless, super-attorneys.The Purple One is suing Youtube, and pretty much every other website on the internet, in an effort to help “the creators and owners of their music need to reclaim their art.”He claims that Youtube is lying when they say that they cannot control what users put on their site. In the past, Youtube has honored requests for videos to be taken off their site because of copyright infringement. However, these efforts seem to be half-hearted. I’m sure both Hollywood and the music industry are cheering quietly as Prince berates the Google owned video site:

“YouTube … are clearly able (to) filter porn and pedophile material but appear to choose not to filter out the unauthorized music and film content which is core to their business success.”

He’s stating the obvious. But…Youtube probably has a stable of lawyers whose ruthlessness and deceptive cunning is equal to that of Prince’s. It will be a bloody battle royale.And if Youtube loses? They can always just play the whiny, spoiled kid who knows how to wield the First Amendment. “We can’t control everything that goes on our site. Come-on. We’re doing our best. You don’t want us to censor everyone, do you?”Good luck Prince. You’regonnaneedit.

Videos with a Purpose

I came across this recently on YouTube.Sure, there is part of me that looks skeptically at things like Pangea Day. Changing the world is a big proposition, but I hear it almost every day. “I’m going to change the world with politics, or the Olympics, or Live Aid, or film.” If you actually waited for said people or events to change the world, you’d get old and gray and eventually pass away. For goodness sake, the massive U.N., an organization that is supposed to be in the business of world changing has turned out to be little more than a big, self-righteous, teddy bear. So you’ll have to forgive me for being skeptical when I see things like the above video.However, it is true that grassroots film-making is giving people who were otherwise not on the map a chance to tell their stories. Places like youtube give them a vehicle to show their work to the world. Finding the best of this kind of work is difficult.Much of the output, of course, is mediocre. But hidden in there are amazing talents capable of using film to astonishing effect…At least I won’t have to wade through hours of shaky camera work and giggling teenagers to find the best online videos. It looks more and more like grassroots reporting will be the future of online journalism and homemade films the future of online entertainment.Therefore, I’ll probably be watching next May 10th when Pangea Day brings the best videos to our attention. The world isn’t going to change, but I may well be impressed with what I see.

The Internet and Activism in The Middle East

Saudi Arabia is more and more looking like an authoritarian state. While the powerful House of Saud continues to count oil revenue and vacation in New England, a strict form of Islamic law rules the non-elite members of the Saudi population. Of course, this aids the aristocrats by keeping the status quo.There is a small, but growing portion of the population that is voicing their opinion against some of the more ridiculous laws, such as the ones which say women are not allowed to drive and must cover their heads. In a true sign of the times, Saudi activists are circulating a petition via the internet, and receiving massive amounts of support domestically and from others around the region. The internet seems to provide a level of anonymity that makes more people comfortable with voicing their opinion. The same has been true of liberal Iranian citizens who voice their discontents and hopes for the future in the blogospere.More visible activists, like Saudi writer Zaynab Hifni, have publicized their views on the authoritarianism of Saudi Arabia and Iran.New media allow for these more liberal voices to be heard, not just in Saudi Arabia, but everywhere where authoritarianism flourishes.