YouTube Stepping on More Toes

Phil Butler,

on April 04, 2007,

YouTube may be irresistible to many, but there sure is a lot of resistance to their content lately. Now Thailand's military government has blocked access to YouTube after Google refused to withdraw a video clip mocking the nation's King. In Thailand, defacing images of the King is a crime. This is not a matter for judgemental indignation on our part, but one for careful thought and correct action on the part of YouTube.

Thai Communications Minister Sitthuichai Pookaiyaudom ordered a block on the entire site in a statement to Reuters via Yahoo!. YouTube is carrying a 44 second clip that ridicules King Bhumibol Adulyadej the world's longest reigning monarch. King Adulyadej is highly revered in Thailand and most of the comment on the clip received before the YouTube ban was highly aggravated and negative toward the creator of the clip. Most Thai people sincerely love and revere their king.

“The king is the most revered figure in the country; he is untouchable,” said Metha Sakaowrat, president of the Information Technology Press Club - a guild of Thai IT journalists.

According to reports YouTube did not find the clip offensive and decided not to remove it. The clip included symbolic gestures including positioning women's feet above the head of the ruler. While this might seem insignificant to many of us, to a Buddhist illustrating the lowest part of the body above the head of a King is the sincerest form of insult. I doubt we could ever expect anyone at YouTube to value the significance of such an insult, much less care for the injured party. Somehow it does not seem wise to thumb one's nose at every tradition.

Thailand has been in some turmoil over the last few years and has been accused of stifling free speech in this case. However, insulting people's culture, religion and King is not exactly a way to make friends. We tend to view everything on YouTube as some declaration of freedom of speech or expression. I guess the question here is really about the sovereignty of other nations and the line YouTube will sooner or later have to draw.

Before you pass judgment on mean old King Adulyadij, it would be fair to read a Time article entitled: “60 Years of Asian Heroes.” What YouTube is essentially telling the people of Thailand is: “We could care less what offends you.” The video may seem like a trivial thing to many westerners, but everyone is not a westerner. We have to be sympathetic to other people and their cultures, and if we aren't then who are the tyrants?

UPDATE: YouTube offered to show Thailand how to block material deemed insulting to King instead of the whole site. They even agreed to removing all the offensive clips. Via BBC News.

Thai Government Planning Large-Scale Internet Censorship Campaign

Google Finally Launches YouTube Anti-Piracy Tool

Pakistan Took Down YouTube. And It Will Probably Happen Again.

Even The King Is Suing YouTube!

6 Comments (Subscribe to rss)

Kristen Nicole - April 04, 2007 at 10:39 pm PDT

It’s interesting to see that although the Internet is supposed to make the world smaller, there will always be the element of misunderstanding and casting of stones. As Google and YouTube move forward, it’ll be interesting to see just how many countries they piss off with their hardline stance. Someone should keep a wiki, detailing all the turmoil that YouTube has caused on a country by country basis.
Stan Schroeder - April 05, 2007 at 09:03 am PDT

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with YouTube’s decision not to remove the clip.

However, if they were officially contacted by a representative of a Thai government, which explained the significance of the clip, and still decided not to remove it (which I somehow doubt was the case), then they can be called “insensitive”.

YouTube is not a service for judging to which degree are video clips offensive to which culture. It’s not their job to do this. It’s their job, though, to react to serious requests pointing to offensive clips.

Let me clarify one other thing. One could say that YouTube is likely to remove videos offensive to the US culture/customs/government, so that they should do the same for everyone. But although Internet has brought everyone closer together, it still doesn’t mean that YouTube should - especially since it’s not them who are actually creating the content - do the same for each country, religious group, or other entity. It’s impractical and nearly impossible to do this, anyway. It’s a US based company, and it’s perfectly normal that they are more likely to react to material insulting to their country.
Phil Butler - April 05, 2007 at 05:12 pm PDT

Thanks for your comments! Everyone is entitled to their opinion certainly. Stan, you are correct about YouTube in a business sense. If they don't care about millions of potential customers, then it is their right to piss them off. Kristen was spot on in her comment. Just how many people have to be offended for us to say something is wrong. The larger questions are where do they live, what do they speak and what do they look like? Why would the world want to be friends with people who insult them? From a more idealistic point of view, I am sure that the Communications Minister did not just call up YouTube and say —- off YouTube! This is the problem with us an our arrogant nature in dealing with other people. We take out Bermuda shorts, cameras and Benjamin's to other places and expect everyone to bow down to the mighty dollar. Just because we try to help everyone does not mean we are superior! There are issues with Thailand and many other nations, but trying to do business there and insulting them is stupid. I think if I intended to take over the world I might follow Alexander the Great's procedure rather than Adolph Hitler's. Understanding and assimilation of cultures is symbolic of intelligence. Riding rough shod over other cultures while we yell "Yeeeehaaaa!" may seem like fun in a video game, but video game characters don't breathe, love, feel or give to the world the last time I noticed.
saru - April 07, 2007 at 07:41 am PDT

I’m poor in English but I want to say something from Thai People heart. “King” that more over king. King of thailand is our father. someone can’t understand because he/she havn’t king and havn’t father. Yeh! more people of the world can’t understand.

I and thai people Love him. My father My mother love him. We have a nice culture. so don’t do that because it’s just make our love him more over.
AC - April 07, 2007 at 02:06 pm PDT

There’s one thing that I would like to stress because the press seemed to have shamelessly omitted it. The King was not involved in the ban of YouTube. I have never heard the royal family suing others for lese majesty too.

The King has spoken on television that the lese majesty law embarrassed him. (He was born and raised in the West.) It also increases his work because he has to issue pardons. My fellow Thais however, could not stand to see him being messed with dirt, so we ignored his request and retain the law. Yes, that’s how Thai-style loyalty works. We do things for him even if he doesn’t like it.

Therefore, the saddest thing of this ordeal is the King was ridiculed for something he was not involved at all.
Phil Butler - April 07, 2007 at 04:39 pm PDT

Thank you Saru and AC for your comments out of the country that was insulted. I am glad that we have some input from the people of Thailand so that many might understand what YouTube obviously does not.

The King of Thailand is an honoranble and decent human being, but what’s more he is a symbol to his people. We used to have meaningful symbols here in the U.S. too.

Our flag (now burned and spit upon), the eagle (now nearly extinct), heroes like Johnny U and Jesse Owens (now replaced with big mouth hoodlums). All of these have been supplanted with emblems of car companies, mediocre politicians out for corporate gain and ultra rich celebrities who would not spit on the common man.

The heart of America is still good, it is just surrounded with the fat of decades of declining morals and values. I never thought I would hear myself say that. I think that the very best we have to offer are the young people fighting in Iraq, who are really abandoned and now just pawns in a political wrestling match.

We have tabloids and funny comic relief that insults everything and everyone, perhaps that is why insults do not register with U.S. companies. Feelings and honor do not count much any more for many people here. We are now a nation of the mis-informed as one of my colleagues put it. I am sorry that the Thai people and all cultures around the world cannot be treated with more respect.

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