Line OpenChat misused for cyberbullying across Thai schools

The Education Ministry has asked LINE to shut down all Line OpenChat groups that have been misused by students across Thailand to publicly shame, dox or sexually harass others.

The cyberbullying crisis emerged last week, with parents filing complaints with police in provinces including Nakhon Ratchasima, Nonthaburi, Kanchanaburi, Surin, Nakhon Pathom and Chiang Mai.

Students have exploited the anonymity offered by Line OpenChat, which allows users to join with avatar profiles and aliases instead of their primary LINE identities, to create localised bullying circles.

Reports said the groups were often named using the Thai word แฉ (chae), meaning “to expose", followed by the name of a particular province, school or student.

The groups grew rapidly, attracting hundreds or even thousands of students who took part in the bullying.

Content shared included private photographs, sensitive personal information and allegations intended to besmirch the targets. Members also engaged in coordinated verbal abuse and sexual harassment.

In Nakhon Ratchasima, Mr Jaturathep, a parent whose child was a member of one such group, said he was deeply concerned that this behaviour could cause serious harm to young victims. Although some might dismiss it as harmless fun,  or as teasing among children, he said it could become a serious problem for those targeted.

Lert Prungpho, director of Ban Cho Ho School, said the school had called in several students for talks after learning that they had been invited to join such groups.

On Tuesday, Deputy Education Minister Akkaranan Kankittinan said he had instructed offices of the Centre for the Protection of Children’s Rights nationwide to report the bullying groups. The ministry was also coordinating with Line to close all groups involved and expected the process to be completed by late Tuesday. Other OpenChat groups would not be affected.

Mr Akkaranan said he did not know where the trend originated, but  it had spread rapidly over the previous two or three days.

Regarding students’ use of social media and mobile phones at school, Education Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong said schools were legal entities and therefore had the authority to introduce their own measures under the ministry’s student-safety policy.

The ministry was working with the Public Health Ministry, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, and universities to address the problem comprehensively.

Parents have also been urged to remain vigilant. Checks found that most of the Line OpenChat users involved were lower- and upper-secondary school students, according to  authorities, the deputy minister said.

Although OpenChat users can create new or avatar profiles, these remain linked to their original accounts, allowing authorities to trace their identities and activities.

Offenders could face defamation charges or legal action under the Child Protection Act, while parents could also be held responsible if violations are established.