Reuters: Bangkok The second-largest economy in Southeast Asia’s Facebook (META.O) may be shut down, according to Thailand’s digital minister, if Meta Platforms doesn’t take steps to stop frauds that have impacted more than 200,000 individuals.
“We are asking the court to close Facebook, not allowing it to provide services in Thailand if they let these fake pages scam people,” said Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn to Reuters.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society said in a statement that despite numerous requests for Facebook to remove adverts it had classified as frauds, the issue remained and it would now seek court action.
An email asking for feedback received no immediate response from Meta.
Wetang Phuangsup, a representative for the ministry, told Reuters that investigators were gathering proof of Facebook’s violation to be submitted in court.
“The court might delete sites and accounts if there is a lot of misbehavior. Or the platform might be shut down entirely, he added.
According to the ministry, Facebook scams include convincing users to invest in phony businesses, impersonating governmental entities like the Securities and Exchange Commission, and engaging in cryptocurrency trading.
Chaiwut remarked, “They can’t do business this way.
