Brit nabbed for Google reviews

[reader]

From The Thaiger

Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested a British man for allegedly defaming an Italian restaurant in Phuket with negative reviews on Google after a two-year long conflict with the restaurant owner.

The restaurant owner filed a complaint with the Sakhu Police Station officers after noticing a sudden drop in their Google Maps rating, from 4.9 stars to 3.1 stars. The owner also noticed several new one-star reviews containing negative comments, and one of the comments came from 21 year old British man, Alexander.

The owner suspected the foreign man of giving a low rating and negative comments to defame the restaurant. The owner claimed that the reviews contained false and exaggerated information, and several reviews seemed similar, suggesting they might be from Alexander’s friends.

According to the owner, Alexander’s action stemmed from a conflict between him and the restaurant in 2022. Alexander frequently used the restaurant’s entrance to access his condominium because it was more convenient than the condo’s official entrance.

However, the owner requested that Alexander stop using their entrance as it was reserved for customers and built on private land paid for by the restaurant.

The restaurant owner believes the negative reviews were Alexander’s way of getting revenge for being denied access to the entrance.

Upon learning about the legal action, Alexander reportedly fled Phuket and hid in a condominium on Charoenkrung Road in the Bang Kho Laem district of Bangkok. Sakhu Police Station officers then coordinated with CIB leading to his arrest on May 8.

Alexander was charged under Section 14(1) of the Computer Act: importing false information into the computer system in a way that is likely to cause damages to the public. The penalty will be imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to 100,000 baht. He reportedly denied the accusations.

A similar story of conflict over reviews was reported in February this year. In this case, an American expat in Thailand faced jail time for defaming the Sea View Resort & Spa Koh Chang and its staff member after writing a review on TripAdvisor about his negative experience at the accommodation.

The American eventually avoided jail by issuing an official apology to the resort, even though he was confident in his right to write an honest review.

[Keithambrose]

Another example of the crazy legal system in Thailand!

[unicorn]

7 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Another example of the crazy legal system in Thailand!

Actually, hurray for the Thai legal system. These obviously fake reviews were defamatory, malicious, and spiteful, lowering the business's ranking from a stellar 4.9 to a dubious 3.1--all because the restaurant owner didn't allow the Brit free use of the restaurant's private property. I hope the restaurant owner gets compensated fairly. And I hope they're able to track down the source of the other fake reviews, and take action against them as well. Freedom of speech isn't a freedom to lie and defame others. 

[Keithambrose]

9 minutes ago, unicorn said:

Actually, hurray for the Thai legal system. These obviously fake reviews were defamatory, malicious, and spiteful, lowering the business's ranking from a stellar 4.9 to a dubious 3.1--all because the restaurant owner didn't allow the Brit free use of the restaurant's private property. I hope the restaurant owner gets compensated fairly. And I hope they're able to track down the source of the other fake reviews, and take action against them as well. Freedom of speech isn't a freedom to lie and defame others. 

I couldn't agree with you less! These laws are used to stifle free speech. There have been. Count5 examples of the misuse of this law.  Defamation  should not be a criminal offence

[unicorn]

3 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

... Defamation  should not be a criminal offence

Defamation is illegal almost everywhere (including the US, Canada, and, I'd venture to guess, all of Europe), as well it should be. You really think it should be OK to spread lies about someone or his business and not have to suffer consequences? Thankfully, very few people think similarly. I have a strong feeling that you'd be quite upset if someone did that to you. Making factually incorrect statements for malicious reasons is, and should be, punishable by law, probably in most, perhaps all, jurisdictions. It has zero to do with freedom of speech, and I suspect you know this.

[Draden]

2 hours ago, unicorn said:

Defamation is illegal almost everywhere (including the US, Canada, and, I'd venture to guess, all of Europe), as well it should be. You really think it should be OK to spread lies about someone or his business and not have to suffer consequences? Thankfully, very few people think similarly. I have a strong feeling that you'd be quite upset if someone did that to you. Making factually incorrect statements for malicious reasons is, and should be, punishable by law, probably in most, perhaps all, jurisdictions. It has zero to do with freedom of speech, and I suspect you know this.

Not taking sides one way or the other on the underlying issue here, however, technically Defamation is only a criminal offense in 17 U.S. states. And even in those states, it can only be criminally prosecuted in narrow cases (generally involving malicious and false accusations of sexual immorality) and rarely is ever actually prosecuted.  In the rest of the U.S., Defamation is a matter for civil litigation. 

If this restaurant were in the U.S. it would probably have a good case for a tortious interference lawsuit provided it could prove the individual conspired with other people to leave reviews, knowing they'd never eaten there, and with the objective of interfering with the commercial success of the business. 

[KeepItReal]

9 hours ago, unicorn said:

Defamation is illegal almost everywhere (including the US, Canada, and, I'd venture to guess, all of Europe), as well it should be. You really think it should be OK to spread lies about someone or his business and not have to suffer consequences? Thankfully, very few people think similarly. I have a strong feeling that you'd be quite upset if someone did that to you. Making factually incorrect statements for malicious reasons is, and should be, punishable by law, probably in most, perhaps all, jurisdictions. It has zero to do with freedom of speech, and I suspect you know this.

You touched on the key thing: lies. If you are going to complain, do it by sticking to the facts. Dont embellish or exaggerate. Keep the receipt. I usually also mention that I brought my complaint to management's attention before posting it online and they did not resolve. That way, it carries more weight. (I am not a frequent complainer - you have to really mess up.)

[unicorn]

11 hours ago, Draden said:

Not taking sides one way or the other on the underlying issue here, however, technically Defamation is only a criminal offense in 17 U.S. states. And even in those states, it can only be criminally prosecuted in narrow cases (generally involving malicious and false accusations of sexual immorality) and rarely is ever actually prosecuted.  In the rest of the U.S., Defamation is a matter for civil litigation. 

If this restaurant were in the U.S. it would probably have a good case for a tortious interference lawsuit provided it could prove the individual conspired with other people to leave reviews, knowing they'd never eaten there, and with the objective of interfering with the commercial success of the business. 

Yes, thanks for pointing out that something can be illegal due to violations of civil code, not simply criminal code. In California, defamation is a violation of civil code, but one cannot go to jail for this:

https://www.shouselaw.com/ca/personal-injury/harm-to-reputation/defamation/

"Defamation is an invasion of the interest in reputation. Under California law, it is a broad term for false statements made that cause damage to someone’s good standing. California Civil Code (Cal. Civ. Code) §44 states that defamation is affected by either libel or slander. If a statement is made verbally, it is slander. If made in writing, it is libel. Cal. Civ. Code §45 and Cal. Civ. Code §46 provide the definitions for both libel and slander. In some states, libel can sometimes be charged as a crime and be punishable by a fine and jail time. However, in California, people who have been defamed are limited to their right to recover damages in a civil lawsuit...". 

In Thailand, defamation can result in criminal penalties:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation#Criminal_7

"The Thai Criminal Code provides that:

Section 326. Defamation

Whoever, imputes anything to the other person before a third person in a manner likely to impair the reputation of such other person or to expose such other person to be hated or scorned, is said to commit defamation, and shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding one year or fined not exceeding twenty thousand Baht, or both.".

One can certainly debate whether defaming someone should result in possible jail time. However, I believe only a madman would argue that defamation shouldn't subject the defamer to any legal consequences. 

[Keithambrose]

23 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

I couldn't agree with you less! These laws are used to stifle free speech. There have been. Count5 examples of the misuse of this law.  Defamation  should not be a criminal offence

*countless...

[unicorn]

On 5/10/2024 at 6:07 PM, Keithambrose said:

I couldn't agree with you less! These laws are used to stifle free speech. There have been. Count5 examples of the misuse of this law.  Defamation  should not be a criminal offence

 

On 5/11/2024 at 6:02 PM, Keithambrose said:

*countless...

Here's the Count: