Thais That Bind

YouTube has offered to help Thai officials block specific videos on the video-sharing site in order to prevent the country from blocking the site altogether, reports the AP.

Thailand blocked YouTube on Wednesday after YouTube owner Google refused to remove a slide show that superimposed offensive images over photos of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“While we will not take down videos that do not violate our policies, and will not assist in implementing censorship, we have offered to educate the Thai ministry about YouTube and how it works,” said Julie Supan, head of global communications for YouTube.

“It’s up to the Thailand government to decide whether to block specific videos, but we would rather that than have them block the entire site,” she said.

Google has run into trouble with several countries regarding content on its sites, and has been criticized for complicity with censorship. Google, along with Microsoft and Yahoo, was recently accused by Amnesty International of collaborating with Chinese authorities to curtail freedom of expression in China.

In 2006 Google was called into Congressional hearings concerning its censorship policies and hired a lobbying firm to help promote its position on the issue.

Last week a group of Google stockholders proposed that Google adopt an anti-censorship policy, but Google’s board is against the idea. The board will vote during the annual shareholder’s meeting on May 10 in Mountain View, Calif.