Accordingly, the digital minister of Thailand announced his intention to request that a court shut down Facebook (META.O) by Meta Platforms in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. This decision comes as a response to unaddressed scams that have impacted over 200,000 individuals.
Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn recently spoke with Reuters and shared that his primary objective is to persuade the court to bar Facebook from rendering its services within Thailand, should the platform continue to permit fraudulent activities. The lawmaker emphasized that the court must take immediate action in stamping out these fake pages that are deceiving individuals.
In an official statement, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society openly admitted to making multiple demands for Facebook to remove scam advertisements they had identified. Unfortunately, despite their efforts, the social media platform has yet to resolve these issues. Consequently, the Ministry has opted to resort to legal intervention to combat the problem.
When an email seeking comment was sent, Meta did not provide an immediate response.
According to Ministry spokesperson Wetang Phuangsup, officials are currently in the process of gathering evidence of Facebook’s wrongdoing. This evidence will be presented before a court of law.
Phuangsup further stated, “In the event of substantial wrongdoing, the court possesses the authority to take action such as shutting down specific pages and accounts. Alternatively, the court could even opt to close down the entire platform.”
The ministry has identified various scams on Facebook, which involve enticing users to invest in fraudulent companies, fabricating government entities like the Securities and Exchange Commission, and engaging in the trading of digital currencies.
“They can’t do business like this,” Chaiwut said.