A new law issued by royal decree will come into impact on August 21, aimed toward regulating digital platforms in Thailand whereas promoting transparency and consumer protection, in accordance with Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn. Restricted was was first printed in the Royal Gazette on December 23, 2022.
Upon implementation, digital platforms trying to conduct business in Thailand should present their business data to the country’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) earlier than commencing operations. Existing operators have been given until November 18 to submit their details.
With the goal of regulating digital platforms, this decree mandates that giant platform operators, based on income or the variety of users, report key info corresponding to their worth of transactions, gross income from their providers, the proportion of revenue from digital platforms working in Thailand, and user figures to authorities on a yearly foundation. Direct business-to-consumer platforms will not fall beneath the scope of this regulation.
Notably, the sooner draft of the decree required international operators to designate native representatives. However, the up to date model of the digital platforms regulation demands solely the appointment of some extent of contact to communicate the mandatory info, reported Bangkok Post.
Approximately 1,000 main digital platform operators including Facebook, YouTube, Google, and quite a few e-marketplaces are anticipated to be impacted by this regulation. Digital platforms required to comply include legal entities incomes more than 50 million baht annually and individuals making over 1.eight million baht per year.
Chaichana Mitrpant, Executive Director of the ETDA, defined that operators presently registered with Thailand’s Commerce Ministry will also have to register with the ETDA.
Dhiraphol Suwanprateep, Counsel for Intellectual Property and Technology at Baker McKenzie, suggested existing digital platform operators to gauge their business buildings to determine their compliance with the decree’s necessities and prepare for notification before the November 18 deadline.
“The time period digital platform service is sort of broad and there’s no clear precedent or official guideline from the ETDA, meaning it’s unclear for certain businesses if they fall beneath the decree,” mentioned Suwanprateep. “Being conscious of the notification deadline, operators ought to search clarification to be able to put together for compliance.”