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A Thai webmaster has received a suspended eight-month prison sentence for not removing online comments that insulted the Thai royal family in what is regarded as a landmark case for internet freedom in the country.

Chiranuch Premchaiporn was prosecuted under Thailand's controversial Computer Crime Act, which came into force in 2007 under an unelected government that took power after a military coup.

Thailand frequently jails people convicted oflse-majest, as royal insults are known.

But Premchaiporn's case raised international concern over the legal status of the internet in Thailand and the liability of a website operator for comments posted by a third party.

"Today's guilty verdict for Chiranuch Premchaiporn, for something somebody else wrote on her website, is a serious threat to the future of the internet in Thailand," Taj Meadows, Asia Pacific spokesman for internet services giant Google, said by email.

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"Telephone companies are not penalised for things people say on the phone and responsible website owners should not be punished for comments users post on their sites - but Thailand's Computer Crime Act is being used to do just that."

Judge Kampol Rungrat ruled thatPremchaiporn was liable for one of the 10 comments posted on her site Prachatai, a popular forum for political and cultural discussions.

Even if the webmaster was not directly responsible for the content of the comments, under the law it was, nonetheless, her "duty and responsibility" to remove them.

Premchaiporn "did not perform her duty in a timely manner" and "allowed the inappropriate posting to be on the website for too long", the judge said.

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Thai Webmaster Chiranuch Premchaiporn Sentenced for Not Deleting Comments Insulting to Royal Family in Landmark Case