An American's Thai holiday ended badly when he was charged over his critical hotel reviews
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TripAdvisor, the global online review platform, has hit back at a Thai hotel that filed a criminal complaint against an American holidaymaker, resulting in two days detention and a possible two-year jail sentence.
Wesley Barnes was arrested in September after being charged with criminal defamation for posting critical reviews of the Sea View resort on the island of Koh Chang, but he left Thailand this week after reaching a private settlement with the hotel.
TripAdvisor, which trades on people’s ability to write firsthand reviews, took punitive action against the hotel on Wednesday – matching the unprecedented case with its own one-of-a-kind warning notice on the Sea View’s page, reported the New York Times.
“This hotel or individuals associated with this hotel filed criminal charges against a TripAdvisor user in relation to the traveler writing and posting online reviews,” says the warning. “The reviewer spent time in jail as a result.”
The dispute spiralled after Mr Barnes had an argument with staff over a $15 corkage fee and then posted negative reviews on multiple sites with claims including “unfriendly staff” who “act like they don’t want anyone here.”
The hotel claimed it had been left with no choice but to file a complaint with the police as a “deterrent” to stop the “unfair reviews.” Mr Barnes was accused of causing "damage to the reputation of the hotel.”
Thai pro-democracy protesters are demanding more free speech rights
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The case has highlighted the clash between free speech and Thailand’s notoriously harsh defamation laws that have faced condemnation from human rights organisations in the past. They argue the laws can be used to stifle free expression.
Bradford Young, vice president and associate general counsel, defended TripAdvisor’s decision, telling the Times that the company’s business model was based on the idea that everyone has “the right to write.”
He added: “This is the first case we are aware of where a TripAdvisor member spent time in jail as a result of a review they posted to our website.”
The hotel said it was “deeply disappointed” by the notice, arguing that “the warning message from TripAdvisor is extremely misleading and lacks complete information.”
While the case represents a first for TripAdvisor, many others have been caught out by Thailand’s draconian anti-defamation laws, which include penalties for improper online content, sedition and insulting the monarchy – which can lead to 15 years in jail.
In December 2019, a Thai journalist was handed a two-year sentence for libelling a chicken farm on Twitter. Suchanee Cloitre was convicted for a post she made about a legal dispute over working conditions at the Thammakaset farm.
The laws have been at the core of a recent wave of pro-democracy rallies where protesters have been calling for an end to the harassment of government critics.
In August, Facebook said it was planning to legally challenge the Thai government after being “compelled” to curb a group that was openly discussing the monarchy.
“Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people’s ability to express themselves,” a Facebook spokesperson said.
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