Thai government lifts YouTube ban

4th September 2007

The Thai government has relented and lifted a ban on Google-owned video sharing website YouTube.

Internet users in Thailand can once again access the site, which allows people to upload their own video content or access that left by others.

The ban was originally imposed five months ago when a number of videos were left on the site that were derogatory towards the Thai royal family.

Thai culture is on the whole extremely conservative and the royal family is treated - at least publicly - with universal respect.

However, the site will now undergo some voluntary self-censorship, according to Thai information and communications minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom.

"Any clip that we think is illegal, we will inform YouTube and YouTube will have a look independently," he explained.

"If YouTube agrees that it is illegal for Thailand or against Thai culture, they will block it from viewers in Thailand."

Earlier this year, YouTube announced plans to introduce a filter aimed at blocking copyrighted content from appearing on its sites.

The issue has been a controversial one with media groups and commercial content creators, with companies such as Viacom bringing copyright infringement actions against the site.