Welcome to Thailand, where a negative review on TripAdvisor can land you in jail

If TripAdvisor has taught us anything in its 20 years of existence, it's that the customer isn't always right.

But by creating a digital ecosystem where citizens' opinions are solicited, and therefore justified, the popular online travel platform has empowered the average traveller beyond measure.

Not in Thailand, however, where a lone critic faces up to two years in prison for leaving bad reviews of a Koh Chang hotel.

On September 26, a surprising news made international headlines: An American sued in Thailand after a negative review on Tripadvisor

Barnes spent a fateful night at the property in June.

In his own words, tweeted by blogger Richard Barrow (of 2PriceThailand) :

"The visit started badly." Spoiler: it didn't end much better.

The "statements" released by Barnes and Sea View Resort, which were shared on Barrow's social media, agree on some details:

that there was a disagreement about the consumption of alcohol outside on the station's premises;
that Barnes did not have to pay the 500 baht (12 euros) corkage fee for the above-mentioned consumption of alcohol;
that Barnes was contacted several times and asked to remove negative reviews about the hotel on TripAdvisor and Google or face criminal prosecution.

"Coming from the West, I felt it was an empty threat," Barnes wrote.

"I was wrong."

The Sea View response contains screenshots of Barnes' alleged criticisms, one of which accuses the complex of "modern slavery of the Thai people".

Another advises potential customers:

"Avoid this place like it's the Coronavirus!"

"We agree that the use of a defamation law may be considered excessive for this situation," Sea View admits in its statement.

"However, the guest refused to respond to our attempts to communicate and instead continued to post constant negative and false criticism of our company.

He explains that online reviews are important for small independent businesses and that negative reviews can be "extremely damaging, especially in these incredibly difficult times".

A complaint was filed and Barnes was arrested and taken to Koh Chang on 12 September, where he spent the weekend "in a local jail with 1,150 inmates" - his words - before posting 100,000 baht bail.

The maximum penalty for criminal defamation in Thailand, a country with notoriously strict defamation laws that have attracted the attention of human rights groups, is two years in prison and a 200,000 baht fine.

The case of Wesley Barnes v Sea View Resort is also being heard in the court of public opinion, a truly terrifying place, where the prevailing narratives are that Barnes looks a bit of a fool, and that the hotel is not really doing itself any favours - nor is it doing the country's tourist-starved reputation any favours.

See : American sued in Thailand after negative review on Tripadvisor

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One Twitter user went so far as to say that the news had deterred them from travelling to "Taiwan", while a Sea View official told the New York Times that "the station was receiving death threats from foreigners".

What does the platform that made this possible have to say for itself?

"TripAdvisor opposes the idea that a traveller can be prosecuted for expressing opinions," the company said in a statement.

"Fortunately, on a global scale, such prosecutions are rare and hundreds of millions of travellers can express themselves freely without facing criminal charges.

Fortunately, indeed.

But we won't be turning to TripAdvisor for advice any time soon, even if we could travel - we're not sure there's much wisdom in its audience.