Conviction in Thailand Worries Web Users

A Thai court convicted a local webmaster for failing to quickly delete posts considered insulting to Thailand's royal family, adding to world-wide concerns over governments adopting increasingly tough tactics to police the Internet. Chiranuch Premchaiporn, 44 years old, escaped a potential 20-year prison term, instead being fined 20,000 baht ($630) and given an eight-month suspended sentence. Still, Internet businesses operating in Thailand, including websites operated by global giants such as Google, will likely be chilled by the ruling, which sets a precedent for prosecuting website owners for what their users say online.