The Procedure for Identifying Anonymous Online Defamers under Thai Law: A Proposal for Legal Amendment

Abstract

Thailand’s defamation law fails to effectively protect the reputational rights of victims who are anonymously defamed online, as they do not know the identities of the defamers. Victims must rely on the procedure outlined in the Computer Crime Act B.E. 2550 (2007) (and its amendments) (‘CCA’) to identify the defamers. Having analysed the Act, this article shows that competent officials can request information from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to identify perpetrators. This procedure can be applied to identify anonymous online defamers. However, the article argues that the procedure has practical problems such as insufficient numbers of competent officials to handle online defamation cases. To provide a solution, this article compares the Thai approach with the approach under US law, which allows defamed victims to directly request a court to order ISPs to reveal the identities of the anonymous defamers. Under the US approach, the court must weigh whether to prioritise the victim's right to reputation or the anonymous user’s right to free speech. This is because US law recognises anonymous speech as an aspect of free speech protected by the Constitution. This article, therefore, proposes that Thai law should adopt this approach by amending Section 18 of the CCA. It also argues that the US approach can solve the practical problems under Thai law because defamed victims can directly request the Thai Court of Justice to order ISPs to reveal their anonymous defamers’ identities without having to rely on the competent officials.