You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

October 15, 2021

Thailand Updates Draft Royal Decree on Digital Platforms in Response to Feedback

Subscribe to Updates

In September 2021, Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) issued an updated draft royal decree for digital platforms—a potentially far-reaching royal decree that was the subject of a public hearing in July 2021. The ETDA made the changes in response to a considerable amount of feedback and comments from business operators and other stakeholders.

The key changes to the draft royal decree are outlined below.

Definitions

The updated draft broadens the definition of digital platforms subject to the royal decree by removing mention of offering goods, services, or intangible assets, and by deleting a phrase related to contract issues. As a result, “digital platform” currently refers to any intermediary digital platform that provides a connection space for “business operators on a digital platform” and “consumers” via a computer network. Similarly, the definitions of “business operators on a digital platform” and “consumers” have been amended by excluding the offering of intangible assets through digital platforms, and the draft emphasizes that business operators on a digital platform are not included in the definition of consumers.

Notification Exemption

Under the updated draft royal decree, a digital platform provider under the supervision of other authorities or falling under the Electronic Transactions Commission’s list of exempted digital platform providers is exempted from the requirement to notify the ETDA of the operation of its digital platform. The commission may also exempt any other digital platform service as it sees fit.

Extraterritorial Effect

The draft provisions subjecting certain digital platforms located outside Thailand to the royal decree and requiring them to appoint a local representative in Thailand have been updated by removing the requirement to issue a tax invoice to consumers in Thailand. Furthermore, the updated draft makes the local representative subject to the reporting obligations and cessation requirements, whereas these obligations were not prescribed in the previous version of the draft royal decree.

Digital Platform Certification Mark

The updated draft royal decree introduces an ETDA certification mark for digital platforms. Display of the mark appears not to be mandatory, but more specific rules, procedures, and other details will be prescribed at a later stage.

Data Sharing

The draft royal decree authorizes the ETDA to request or collect information in relation to a digital platform from other state agencies, pursuant to the law or contractual terms.

Digital Platform Providers’ Obligations

Obligations of digital platform providers replace the “platform-related requirements” from the previous version of the draft royal decree. The latest draft obligates certain types of digital platform providers (to be announced later by the ETDA) to notify their platform users of necessary information prior to or at the time of service, or upon any amendment to the information (such as altered terms and conditions), which may include the following:

  • Conditions for provision, suspension, or cessation of service (including clear and fair fees, remuneration, and expenses);
  • Criteria used to rank, recommend, or advertise goods or services;
  • Satisfaction ratings and feedback from users;
  • Access and usage of data shared with business operators on the digital platform;
  • Inquiries, complaints, dispute settlement, and timeframe for dispute settlement;
  • Responses to unlawful or sensitive content (including content rating practices); and
  • Any other matters as deemed appropriate.

Criteria that had applied to small businesses have been removed from the updated draft royal decree.

Compliance Timeline

Once the royal decree is enacted and takes effect, digital platform providers will have 30 days to take the actions necessary to ensure compliance. The updated draft royal decree has been proposed to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society for approval before it is sent to the cabinet for further consideration. While the original expectation was for the royal decree to be adopted by the end of this year, the latest indications are that it may not reach that step until sometime in 2022.

Tilleke & Gibbins will continue to closely monitor the progress of this draft royal decree. For more details about the draft royal decree’s regulatory requirements, please contact Gvavalin Mahakunkitchareon at [email protected] or Thammapas Chanpanich at [email protected].

Related Professionals

Industries

Technology

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

July 8, 2026
On July 7, 2026, the Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) issued a press release announcing the establishment of two new subcommittees designed to intensify oversight of digital platforms and modern trade businesses. The formation of the digital platform subcommittee marks a significant escalation in competition enforcement following the TCCT’s Guidelines on Multi-Sided Platforms and E-Commerce Businesses, which took effect on March 25, 2026. Platform operators, sellers, and related service providers should expect heightened regulatory scrutiny and potential investigations into practices already flagged under the March guidelines. Two Dedicated Enforcement Bodies The first new body is the digital platform subcommittee—formally the Subcommittee on Supervision, Monitoring, and Prevention of Trade Conduct in Digital Platform Business. It is tasked with driving intensive oversight of digital platform businesses. It will coordinate with government agencies, the private sector, business operators, and other relevant stakeholders to supervise and prevent trade conduct that may affect competition, and to promote free and fair competition in the digital platform sector. The subcommittee will be composed of TCCT members and representatives from the Department of Internal Trade. The second body—the Subcommittee on Determining Guidelines and Action Plans Concerning Competition Conditions in Modern Wholesale and Retail Business—will study, analyze, and monitor market structure in modern wholesale and retail businesses, compile databases to analyze retail business concentration, assess impacts on small-scale operators, and propose supervisory measures for the retail sector. TCCT members will serve on the subcommittee alongside experts from government and private organizations, including the Office of Industrial Economics, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion, the Thai SME Federation, and the Thai SME Council. Operational Impact for Industry Participants These subcommittees provide the TCCT with a focused mechanism to investigate various trade practices deemed unfair, and the TCCT has authority under the Trade Competition Act to issue cease-and-desist
Read More
July 6, 2026
Vietnam has introduced an official list of high-risk AI systems, triggering more stringent compliance obligations for developers, suppliers, and deployers operating in the country. On June 30, 2026, the prime minister issued Decision No. 33/2026/QD-TTg (Decision 33), which establishes the List of High-Risk AI Systems under the Law on Artificial Intelligence (AI Law) and Decree No. 142/2026/ND-CP (Decree 142). Decision 33 takes effect on August 15, 2026. Decision 33 is significant because only AI systems included on the list will be subject to the heightened compliance obligations applicable to high-risk AI systems under the AI Law and Decree 142. These include, among others, local presence requirements for foreign providers, mandatory conformity assessment before deployment, comprehensive risk management and data quality documentation, and strict liability for damages even when the provider is fully compliant. Decision 33 also specifies the applicable conformity assessment pathway for each listed system, indicating whether the system must undergo mandatory third-party conformity certification before being placed into use, or whether the provider may self-assess conformity or voluntarily engage a registered or recognized conformity assessment body. Which AI Systems Are Covered? Decision 33 identifies high-risk AI systems across six sectors—the key attributes of which are summarized below. Education: AI systems used for automated assessment, learner ranking, behavioral monitoring, or generating educational content from uncontrolled data sources. Ethnic affairs and religion: AI systems used to automatically score, classify, or rank applications for government ethnic policies; approve or reject regulatory applications; suspend benefits on suspicion of fraud; allocate budgets; or infer and classify individuals by ethnicity or religion for administrative purposes. Healthcare: AI-assisted surgical systems and autonomous AI-powered surgical robots. Banking: AI systems that autonomously conduct electronic banking transactions or make credit approval decisions. Judicial proceedings: Certain large-scale biometric identification systems used in public-interest civil proceedings. Transport: Thirty-one categories
Read More
July 6, 2026
Indonesia’s regulation on reporting online intellectual property (IP) infringement provides comprehensive procedural guidance for IP rights holders and their licensees in reporting online infringement complaints. Issued in December 2025 by the Ministry of Law as Regulation No. 47 of 2025 regarding Handling of Intellectual Property Infringement Reports in Electronic Systems, this regulation covers all types of IP rights. It also specifies documentation when reporting infringement, and lays out the procedures for examination, verification, and enforcement actions. Submission of Complaints Complainants may submit reports through the online system of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) or in person at the DGIP office. Complaints may also be filed through an authorized proxy. Under the regulation, complainants are required to provide the following information and documents: Personal details of the complainant; Brief description of the protected work or subject matter (i.e., type of IP and name or address of the infringing website, portal, account, or application, or a link to the location of the infringing content); Complete description of the alleged infringement; Certificate of registration or recordal of the relevant IP; Recordal of IP license agreement, if any; and Other supporting evidence. Verification and Examination Process Upon receiving a complaint, the responsible formality officer may request clarification or additional supporting documents. In the latter case, the complainant must then submit the necessary administrative documents within 14 days of the notification date. Once the documentation is deemed complete and sufficient, the case will be formally registered. Subsequently, the DGIP will establish a verification team to handle online IP violations, which will include the Civil Servant Investigator (PPNS), the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, experts with relevant expertise in IP, and representatives from related associations such as AVISI (Indonesian Video Streaming Association). After examining the report, the team will prepare the Minutes
Read More
July 6, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has contributed the Vietnam chapter to Data Protection & Privacy 2027, a global guide published by Lexology Panoramic that provides comparative insights into data protection and privacy regimes across multiple jurisdictions. The Vietnam chapter offers a comprehensive overview of the country’s data protection framework, addressing both regulatory structure and practical compliance considerations for businesses operating in or engaging with Vietnam. Topics covered include: Law and the regulatory authority: Legislative framework; data protection authority; cooperation with other data protection authorities; breaches of data protection law; judicial review of data protection authority orders Scope: Exempt sectors and institutions; interception of communications and surveillance laws; other laws; personal information formats; extraterritoriality; covered uses of personal information Legitimate processing of personal information: Lawful bases for processing; grounds for legitimate processing; types of personal information Data handling responsibilities of owners of personal information: Transparency; exemptions from transparency obligations; data accuracy; data minimization; data retention; purpose limitation; automated decision-making Security: Security obligations; notification of data breaches; internal controls Accountability: Data protection officer requirements; record-keeping; risk assessment; design of personal information processing systems Registration and notification: Registration requirements; other transparency duties Sharing and cross-border transfers of personal information: Sharing with processors and service providers; restrictions on third-party disclosures; cross-border transfers; further transfers; localization requirements Rights of individuals: Right of access; other statutory rights; compensation Enforcement: Enforcement mechanisms; exemptions, derogations, and restrictions; further exemptions and restrictions Specific data processing: Cookies and similar technologies; electronic communications marketing; targeted advertising; sensitive personal information; profiling; cloud services The chapter concludes with an update on key legal and regulatory developments over the past year and emerging trends in Vietnam’s data protection landscape. The full Vietnam chapter is available as a PDF through the button below. Readers can also gain 30 days of complementary access to the full Data
Read More