American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review • Hacker News Board

Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review

#41

Post by justinclift » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 6:02 AM UTC

kwhitefoot wrote: post #31

tinus_hn wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure who you’re astroturfing for but nowhere did I talk about following Thai laws. I didn’t even actually specify my comment was about this person. Did the law change when the borders closed? Is there something that prevents this ridiculous chain of events unfolding for someone who is not in the country? If I post an unfavorable review about a Thai business from across the world, can they just summon me to a…

> can they just summon me to a Thai court? Of course, but they cannot make it effective until you enter Thailand.

Out of curiosity, I wonder how'd they'd address the summons for someone overseas whose personal details (eg home address) they probably don't know?

Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review

#42

Post by msh » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 7:05 AM UTC

unnameduser1 wrote: post #33

msh wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No matter if there is more, how is being arrested by the police and risking 2 years in prison appropriate for libel in a review? I think it is good warning people not to be tourists in countries with draconian laws.

Nobody forced the guy to come and work in Thailand. He isn’t a tourist though. If he works here he should know about the laws. Ignorance is not protection against the laws. We see the same with many foreign tourists who come and assume they can ride motorcycles without valid driving license and experience. Lots of them injured and asking for money in gofundme pages to pay hospital bills since insurance won’t cover il…

What am I inventing and twisting?

I am not questioning weather or not the law have been followed, but if the law it self is just.

I think its draconian that a person can get arrested because someone accuses them of libel (they have not even been convicted). Why is people getting pressured at the police station (it is a pressure that the accuser can force people to go to a police station) to make a settlement very civilized(I would not think the police should be involved at all)?

I think it would be healthy for tourists to consider the laws of the country they visit before visiting them, and don't visit/spend their money in countries with harsh laws.

I also don't think the american justice system sounds that great (but I am also not american).

Re: American sued in Thailand over negative Tripadvisor review

#43

Post by listenallyall » Mon, Sep 28, 2020, 10:07 AM UTC

ratww wrote: post #37

listenallyall wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is opposite of Streisand effect. It's turning out to be terrific free publicity for this island resort with 4.5 stars on Trip Advisor, and actually portrays the resort as victim of a loser guest who was asked to pay a standard corkage fee, refused, then went off and accused the resort of slavery. I mean, just the top image on the Yahoo link, of a gorgeous beachfront, looks pretty great right now. Here's a tip, w…

I don't know. The only thing I knew about Thailand is that it's a beautiful country. Now that I know about this case, I wouldn't consider setting foot there out of principle... and fear. And as someone who's in this field: this is going to have deep repercussions in the traveling industry and people will definitely rethink how reviews work for Thailand. Some friends from travel-related startups already posted the lin…

Not sure what principles you're standing by, unless you mean the right to be an asshole and accuse a company of slavery.

Indeed, Thailand is an amazing, beautiful country, it's nobody's loss but yours if a "Florida-man" type of story will influence your travel plans.

On the other hand, if you simply insist on absolute freedom of speech across the entire globe, and can't trust yourself to ever self-censor, then yes I would suggest you stay away, lest you run afoul of Thailand's lese-majeste laws.