 It is resorted to mostly from fear of being charged with a violation of lèse majesté statutes.Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was repeatedly accused of using his political and economic power to silence dissenting voices and curbing freedom of speech stemming from his direct authority over state-owned TV stations coupled with his family owning the other broadcast TV channels.Responding to critics, he sold all of his family's interests in the broadcast media in 2006.