Facebook Defamation in Thailand: Which Posts Cross the Line

Last updated 1 October 2026 (B.E. 2569)

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A Facebook post amounts to defamation when it meets the elements of Section 326 of the Criminal Code: imputing a matter about another person to a third person in a manner likely to impair that person’s reputation. If the statement is published so that members of the general public can access it, the aggravated offense under Section 328 applies, with a heavier penalty of imprisonment not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand baht.

A public post is usually “publication”

Publishing a defamatory statement about another person where members of the general public can access it amounts to publication under Section 328 of the Criminal Code, the aggravated form of Section 326, so the penalty rises to imprisonment not exceeding two years and a fine not exceeding two hundred thousand baht. What the court weighs is the intent to spread the statement to the public, not the number of likes or the name of the platform.

When a defamatory statement about another person is published so that members of the general public can access it, the act usually amounts to defamation by publication under Section 328 of the Criminal Code, which carries a heavier penalty than ordinary defamation because the damage can spread widely.¹

Sharing and commenting

Pressing “share” does not automatically create liability. The question is whether the person sharing added words that confirm, endorse, or aggravate the original statement. If so, that act may itself be an imputation to a third person under Section 326. A comment that adds new allegations of fact is assessed separately from the original post.

Sharing another person’s statement together with your own words endorsing or aggravating it may be treated as publishing the defamatory statement yourself, as may a comment that adds further imputations. The statement, its context, and the intent must be assessed case by case; not every share is an offense.

• Does the original statement impute a matter about another person?
• Did the person sharing add words that confirm or aggravate it?
• How many third persons received the statement?

How the Computer-related Crime Act fits in

Section 14 (1) of the Computer-related Crime Act contains an express exception: “which is not an offense of defamation under the Criminal Code.” Defamatory statements on online media are therefore still decided primarily under Sections 326 and 328, not by starting from the computer crime legislation.

Many people assume that defamation online is automatically an offense under the Computer-related Crime Act. Section 14 (1), however, expressly carves out defamation with the words “which is not an offense of defamation under the Criminal Code,” so online defamation must be assessed case by case.²

Preserve the evidence first

Evidence in online defamation cases disappears quickly, because the author can delete or edit a post at once. What should be recorded from the outset is a screenshot showing the statement, the poster’s name, the date and time, and the page address, together with witnesses who saw the statement, to support proof of the element “to a third person” under Section 326.

An online post can be deleted or edited at any time. Capturing complete screenshots that show the statement, the poster, the date and time, and the page address (URL) from the very start is therefore essential.