On March 28, two lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group—Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon, associate—spoke at an event titled “PDPA Is Coming: What Should I Be Doing Now?” hosted by the Thai-Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NorCham) in Bangkok. During the in-person session, Gvavalin and Nopparat presented on the following topics: Impact of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) on Thai companies; Advice on how to prepare and implement PDPA compliance procedures; Overview of PDPA subordinate regulations; and Penalties for failure to comply with PDPA provisions, and key lessons from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU. As the PDPA is set to come into effect on June 1, 2022, after repeated delays caused by the pandemic, the session was very well attended by representatives of companies looking to ensure that their data protection policies and practices are in line with the new law.

On March 10, Nopparat Lalitkomon, a senior associate in Tilleke & Gibbins’ corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, was featured in the Lexology Connect: Philippines 2022 webinar to address regulatory risks and data management in Thailand. Nopparat appeared in the webinar session titled “Redefining Data” to give perspectives on data protection practices and trends elsewhere in the region. During the discussion, he provided an overview of the data privacy framework in Thailand, shared useful tips for managing and preventing data leaks, and addressed key elements of cross-border data transactions. His presentation assisted legal professionals in the Philippines to have a better understanding of the differences between the two countries’ data protection regulations, so that legal practitioners in Philippines could better serve clients who have concerns related to data management in Thailand.

On February 25, Krisna Bovornratanaraks, counsel in the firm’s Bangkok office; Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate of the firm’s corporate and commercial group; and Pongpalin Chantrapirom, associate in the firm’s dispute resolution group, offered a webinar titled “The Relation between Cyber Threats and Personal Data Protection: What Thai Businesses Need to Know.” The session was presented in conjunction with Metro System Corporation, Thailand’s Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), and the National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA). During the presentation, the speakers discussed notable cyber threat cases around the globe, the principles behind Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), the PDPA’s approach to cyberattack issues, and case studies from European countries. A recording of the webinar (in Thai) is available on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.

On February 8, Nopparat Lalitkomon, senior associate, and Thammapas Chanpanich, associate, both in the firm’s corporate and commercial group in Bangkok, delivered a joint Thai-language webinar entitled “Personal Data Protection Guidelines for Insurance Industry.” During the session, the speakers focused on the relevance of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)—which is expected to come into force on June 1, 2022—to the insurance industry. Specifically, they discussed the following topics: Key principles of personal data collection; Scope of establishing the principle of legality for insurance companies; Notification of data collection and data processing activities in accordance with the law; Procedures of execution between insurance companies and their counterparties; and Managing personal data collected prior to the effective date of the PDPA. A recording of the webinar (in Thai) is available to watch on the Tilleke & Gibbins YouTube channel.