It looks like Thailand won’t be suing Google after all. “We have called that off,” said Sitthichai. Google VP Kent Walker apologized to Thailand in an official letter. All defamatory clips of HMtK will be removed and soon we will all be able to watch videos of cats falling off TVs again. Will it be happily ever after? Perhaps, although I’m surprised that Google buckled to Sitthichai’s bullying tactics.

Don’t do evil

Addendum: Now this is interesting:

Sitthichai said authorities wanted to charge the creators of the videos with lese majeste, the crime of offending a monarch, a serious offense punishable by 15 years in prison.

“Thai police will ask for information from the company to file criminal charges against those who posted the clips,” the minister said.

How the hell is he going to do that? How could it stand up in court? And if it did, what would it mean for future cases? Whichever way it goes, this case will be a defining moment for Thailand’s sacred lese majeste laws. It’s also worth noting that of the twelve videos Thai authorities asked YouTube to remove, two of them were political! That’s what you might call trying your luck. Sitthichai is always so vague with his words: “If Google agrees to cooperate [I thought it had, no?], there is no point in pursuing any legal action at the moment.” (Quotes from AFP.)

Techno’ tags: Bangkok, Thailand, MICT, YouTube, Sitthichai, Google