More than half a million users joined a new&nbsp;Facebook group created by a critic of the powerful Thai king after the social media company blocked its predecessor under pressure from the government.

The "Royalist Marketplace" group, which had over 1 million members, was blocked within Thailand late on Monday after the digital ministry threatened legal action against&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;under the country's Computer Crime Act.

Facebook&nbsp;said it was compelled to comply but would mount a legal challenge to the Thai government.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/facebook-planning-to-challenge-thai-governments-demand-to-block-group-critical-of-monarchy-322913">Facebook planning to challenge Thai government's demand to block group critical of monarchy</a>

The tension came amid near daily youth-led protests against the government of a former military junta chief and unprecedented calls for reforms of the monarchy, which is illegal to insult in Thailand.

Hours before the restriction, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled academic and prominent critic of the monarchy, set up a new group with a similar name that has gained over half a million members in one day.

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/down-with-the-dictatorship-thailand-witness-biggest-anti-government-protest-in-years-321005">'Down with the dictatorship': Thailand witness biggest anti-government protest in years</a>

"If you want to close it down again, then I'll set up another group. To promote freedom of expression, I would do it," Pavin said.

Pavin, who lives in Japan, created the original group in April, encouraging once-rare free discussion of the monarchy and royal family members, considered taboo subjects in Thailand.

Thailand's lese majeste laws forbid defaming the king with penalties of up to 15 years in prison, and often form the basis for requests to block or remove content on social media.

Thailand's digital minister said&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;was at risk of violating a different law, the Computer Crime Act, in not acting on court orders attached to government requests to block content.

Facebook&nbsp;said it would challenge the government in court over the legality of the orders related to the group and would seek to have them revoked.

"Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves," a company spokesperson said.

"We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request."

It said such "excessive government actions" undermined its business in Thailand.

More than half a million users joined a new Facebook group created by a critic of the powerful Thai king after the social media company blocked its predecessor under pressure from the government.

More than half a million users joined a new Facebook group created by a critic of the powerful Thai king after the social media company blocked its predecessor under pressure from the government. The "Royalist Marketplace" group, which had over 1 million members, was blocked within Thailand late on Monday after the digital ministry threatened legal action against Facebook under the country's Computer Crime Act. Facebook said it was compelled to comply but would mount a legal challenge to the Thai government. Also read: Facebook planning to challenge Thai government's demand to block group critical of monarchy The tension came amid near daily youth-led protests against the government of a former military junta chief and unprecedented calls for reforms of the monarchy, which is illegal to insult in Thailand. Hours before the restriction, Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled academic and prominent critic of the monarchy, set up a new group with a similar name that has gained over half a million members in one day. Also see: 'Down with the dictatorship': Thailand witness biggest anti-government protest in years "If you want to close it down again, then I'll set up another group. To promote freedom of expression, I would do it," Pavin said. Pavin, who lives in Japan, created the original group in April, encouraging once-rare free discussion of the monarchy and royal family members, considered taboo subjects in Thailand. Thailand's lese majeste laws forbid defaming the king with penalties of up to 15 years in prison, and often form the basis for requests to block or remove content on social media. Thailand's digital minister said Facebook was at risk of violating a different law, the Computer Crime Act, in not acting on court orders attached to government requests to block content. Facebook said it would challenge the government in court over the legality of the orders related to the group and would seek to have them revoked. "Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves," a company spokesperson said. "We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request." It said such "excessive government actions" undermined its business in Thailand.

After block, new Facebook group critical of Thai monarchy gains 500,000 members

Facebook has blocked access within Thailand to a group with million members. The popular group was named ‘Royalist Marketplace’ and the discussions primarily revolve around criticising the Thai monarchy.

Thailand Protest: Facebook blocks access to group criticising monarchy

Facebook&nbsp;blocked access within Thailand to a group with 1 million members that has criticised the country's king, but said it was planning a legal challenge to the government's demand that it block the group.

The move comes amid near daily youth-led protests against the government led by the former military junta chief and unprecedented calls for reforms of the monarchy.

The "Royalist Marketplace" group was created in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled academic and critic of the monarchy.

Also see:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/down-with-the-dictatorship-thailand-witness-biggest-anti-government-protest-in-years-321005">'Down with the dictatorship': Thailand witness biggest anti-government protest in years</a>

On Monday night, the group's page brought up a message: "Access to this group has been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society."

Pavin, who lives in Japan, said&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;had bowed to the military-dominated government's pressure.

"Our group is part of a democratisation process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this,&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand."

Pavin's new group of the same name already had over 455,000 members on Tuesday.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hamster-hero-how-a-japanese-cartoon-became-thai-youth-protesters-symbol-317486">Hamster hero? How a Japanese cartoon became Thai youth protesters' symbol</a>

Facebook&nbsp;said on Tuesday it was planning to legally challenge the Thai government after being "compelled" to block access to the group.

"Requests like this are severe, contravene international human rights law, and have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves," a&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;spokesperson said.

"We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request."

Thailand's lese majeste laws, which forbid defaming the king, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison, is often the basis for such requests to block or remove content on social media platforms.

Earlier this month, Thailand's digital minister accused&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;of not complying with requests to restrict content, including insults to the monarchy.

On August 10, he gave&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;15 days to comply with court takedown orders or face charges under the local Computer Crime Act, which carries a fine of up to $6,368&nbsp;(200,000 baht) and an additional $160 (5,000 baht) per day until each order is observed.

Digital ministry spokesman Putchapong Nodthaisong said on Monday that&nbsp;Facebook&nbsp;cooperated before the deadline because it understood the context of Thai society.

Putchapong did not comment on&nbsp;Facebook's plan for legal action when asked by Reuters on Tuesday.

The ministry last week filed a separate cybercrime complaint against Pavin for creating the group.

Facebook blocked access within Thailand to a group with 1 million members that has criticised the country's king, but said it was planning a legal challenge to the government's demand that it block the group.

Facebook blocked access within Thailand to a group with 1 million members that has criticised the country's king, but said it was planning a legal challenge to the government's demand that it block the group. The move comes amid near daily youth-led protests against the government led by the former military junta chief and unprecedented calls for reforms of the monarchy. The "Royalist Marketplace" group was created in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun, a self-exiled academic and critic of the monarchy. Also see: 'Down with the dictatorship': Thailand witness biggest anti-government protest in years On Monday night, the group's page brought up a message: "Access to this group has been restricted within Thailand pursuant to a legal request from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society." Pavin, who lives in Japan, said Facebook had bowed to the military-dominated government's pressure. "Our group is part of a democratisation process, it is a space for freedom of expression. By doing this, Facebook is cooperating with the authoritarian regime to obstruct democracy and cultivating authoritarianism in Thailand." Pavin's new group of the same name already had over 455,000 members on Tuesday. Also read: Hamster hero? How a Japanese cartoon became Thai youth protesters' symbol Facebook said on Tuesday it was planning to legally challenge the Thai government after being "compelled" to block access to the group. "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. "We work to protect and defend the rights of all internet users and are preparing to legally challenge this request." Thailand's lese majeste laws, which forbid defaming the king, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison, is often the basis for such requests to block or remove content on social media platforms. Earlier this month, Thailand's digital minister accused Facebook of not complying with requests to restrict content, including insults to the monarchy. On August 10, he gave Facebook 15 days to comply with court takedown orders or face charges under the local Computer Crime Act, which carries a fine of up to $6,368 (200,000 baht) and an additional $160 (5,000 baht) per day until each order is observed. Digital ministry spokesman Putchapong Nodthaisong said on Monday that Facebook cooperated before the deadline because it understood the context of Thai society. Putchapong did not comment on Facebook's plan for legal action when asked by Reuters on Tuesday. The ministry last week filed a separate cybercrime complaint against Pavin for creating the group.

Facebook planning to challenge Thai government's demand to block group critical of monarchy