Thai webmaster verdict 'threat' to Internet

Google branded a webmaster's conviction on Wednesday for hosting a comment deemed insulting to Thailand's monarchy a "serious threat" to the Internet in the country. Chiranuch Premchaiporn was found guilty of failing to speedily delete a post written by others critical of the royal family from her popular news website, and handed an eight-month suspended jail term. "Today's guilty verdict for something somebody else wrote on her website is a serious threat to the future of the Internet in Thailand," a Google spokesman said in an emailed statement to AFP. "Telephone conversations are not penalised for things people say on the phone and responsible website owners should not be punished for comments users post on their sites. "Thailand's Computer Crimes Act is being used to do just that," he said, referring to the law used to punish Chiranuch.