ABSTRACT

In Thailand, social media – Facebook in particular – plays a more important role than in most other countries. Bangkok is the city with the most Facebook accounts in the world, and Thailand ranks fourth worldwide concerning time spent on social media. The high penetration of social media and the prominent role it plays was achieved within only a very short time and is closely intertwined with the rapidly increasing polarisation of Thai politics. The chapter traces this development as an interplay between different factors: legal provisions such as the lése-majesté law and the Computer Crime Act; political censorship strategies, adopted from Singapore and China, such as the Cyber Scouts; civil society groups like the Rubbish Collector Organisation, which can be characterised as a vigilante or even fascist group; and finally the business model of social media companies, which rely on the collection and analysis of big data. The development of social media in Thailand shows a specific trajectory, yet it is part of a worldwide trend which shows the increasing role of social media in the establishment and reproduction of authoritarian regimes.