Norwegian telecom company Telenor sacked its Asia communications head after the company said the Thai junta ordered a block on social network website Facebook, a news report said on Monday.
Tor Odland, Vice-President of Telenor Asia and its chief of communications, was moved out of the Bangkok office after he made public the reasons behind the company’s Facebook blackout, the Bangkok Post reported.
Telenor issued an apology on Sunday to Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), expressing regret for having “damaged the public image” of the regulatory body.
The NBTC, which has been under military control since a coup on May 22, originally blamed the disconnection on technical difficulties.
Facebook was made unavailable in Thailand on May 28, but connection was restored 45 minutes later after a wave of comment and condemnation on other online fora and social media.
Telenor, which holds a large stake in local telecommunications company DTAC, said the NBTC ordered the Facebook block. The commission has denied giving such as order.
The apology and sacking comes after the NBTC threatened to investigate alleged improprieties within Telenor’s stake in its Thai telecom company.
The NBTC denies its investigations have any political connection.