Thai govt department explains why its account seen viewing obscene livestream on Facebook

Thailand’s Department of Disease Control (DDC) was seen appearing in the viewer list of an obscene livestream on Facebook.

The sex livestream was apparently circulated widely on May 23 night, Thaiger reported.

Uncensored

The livestream featured uncensored sexual intercourse content.

Several anonymous Facebook pages apparently shared the livestream at around the same time, leading many users to click into the broadcast out of curiosity.

Facebook users then shared screenshots showing several celebrity accounts and verified pages appearing among the livestream’s viewers.

Those accounts included the government department and "Drama-addict", a Thai Facebook account with 3.5 million followers, Bangkok Post reported.

Replied in the comments section

The government department was criticised for appearing among the livestream's viewers, with the page administrator replying to the comments.

The government department administrator explained that a Facebook user had apparently sent the livestream link to the inbox and requested that the department review the content.

The message warned the livestream could contain inappropriate sexual content accessible to children.

The administrator then exited the livestream immediately after confirming the content was inappropriate and reported it through Facebook’s reporting system.

The department also warned in the comments section that unprotected sex carries serious health risks and directed users to information on preventing sexually transmitted diseases, free condoms, and HIV test kits.

A condom-use tutorial video was also attached.

Working on health content

On May 24, the department issued an official statement to explain the incident.

According to the department, its administrator was working on Ebola-related public health content and airport screening information when the message was received.

The department reiterated that the livestream was briefly accessed for verification purposes and insisted that the administrator did not continue viewing the content.

Officials said the statement was issued to protect the department’s reputation and clarify misunderstandings surrounding the incident.

It also announced plans to improve procedures surrounding the use of social media to prevent similar situations in the future.

Investigation

Thai cyber police are investigating the livestream, Khaosod reported.

Local police warned against posting sexually explicit material online, saying offenders could face prosecution.

In Thailand, offenders may face a jail term of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht (S$3,932), or both.