Thailand has released a draft amended Electronic Transactions Act (ETA), which aims to overhaul the current version of the law from 2001 to correct its enforcement limitations and update the ETA to be consistent with current electronic transactions practice. The draft ETA is open for public comment until December 20, 2024. The draft ETA introduces a new supervisory scheme that (1) recognizes electronic transactions executed by both current and future technologies without having to enact regulations recognizing the technology, (2) replaces the licensing, registration, and notification scheme for electronic transaction service providers with a trust-mark scheme, and (3) introduces a new mechanism to regulate electronic transaction service providers. The major amendments under the draft ETA address: Relationship with other relevant laws. The draft ETA is designated as the primary law governing electronic transactions, whether between private parties or between private parties and the state. However, if specific laws—including those on electronic administrative procedures—prescribe methods for conducting particular electronic transactions, those laws will prevail. Definitions. The draft ETA revises some existing terms, such as “transaction,” which is now more clearly defined as “any act relating to civil or commercial activities, including administrative procedures, administrative contracts, and any other actions by government agencies or officials.” It also introduces new definitions, such as “biometric data,” “automated system,” and “electronic seal.” Electronic transaction reliability. The draft ETA now clearly provides that electronic transactions executed using a method or an electronic method stipulated by the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) as reliable are themselves presumed to be “reliable.” In case of a challenge over the implementation of a certified method or certified service, the challenging party bears the burden of proof and related expenses. Electronic transferable instruments. The draft ETA adopts the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records (ETRs) in recognizing ETRs (e.g.,

Thailand has released the set of principles that will form the official draft Platform Economy Act (PEA) for a public hearing period that runs until December 15, 2024. The PEA is likely to be positioned as a general or overarching law for digital intermediary services and digital platform service businesses. In January 2024, an early, unofficial version of the proposed law had been circulated among a limited group of operators in certain industries to get comments for the working group charged with the PEA’s development. Now, however, the proposed principles that will underpin the official draft PEA have been released publicly to gather comments, feedback, and suggestions from any interested stakeholders. The principles of the draft PEA cover two main areas: user protection and fair competition. The key details in these two areas are outlined below. User Protection The main regulator supervising the law’s user protection elements will be the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA). The draft PEA is expected to impose user protection obligations on service providers based on their nature, size, and risk level. The principles set out a three-tiered classification system for service providers that will be covered under the draft PEA, as detailed below, ordered from fewest obligations to most: Intermediary Service Provider: This describes a service provider acting as an intermediary between a sender and recipient of information on a computer network, the internet, or a telecommunications network. Service providers likely to fall under this category include cloud service providers and web hosting providers. Intermediary service providers may be further categorized into the following subtypes: Mere conduit service providers; Caching service providers; Hosting service providers; and Other service providers as prescribed in ministerial regulations. Online Platform: This refers to an intermediary service provider offering data storage services that connect various types of users to

Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) issued guidelines for managing advertisements on digital platform services (DPSs) earlier this year. These guidelines aim to prevent fraud, illegal product or service offerings, and inducements to commit illegal acts, and are likely to provide a basis for greater regulation of this issue in the future. Key obligations for DPS business operators under the guidelines are detailed below. Advertiser Screening and Data Collection Verification and collection: Business operators must establish processes for verifying and collecting advertiser data. This includes steps, methods, and required information for advertiser registration. Identity verification: Business operators should follow identity verification requirements for advertiser registration. This may include using identity verification results from other identity providers or conducting their own identity verification processes with a minimum identity assurance level (IAL) of IAL2. Data storage: Advertiser data must be stored in a machine-readable format. Business operators must maintain records for watchlists, blacklists, and whitelists. Prepublication Advertisement Review Review process: Business operators should review advertisements before publication. This review should consider factors such as prohibited or restricted advertisements, required permissions, and avoiding sensitive user data. Postpublication Monitoring Advertisement monitoring: Business operators must monitor published advertisements using automated systems, staff, or contracted personnel. Criteria for prioritizing reviews should be established. Reporting channels: Business operators must provide channels for users to report illegal or inappropriate advertisements. Reports must be promptly addressed, prioritizing cases involving intellectual property owners or multiple credible reports. Advertiser account monitoring: Business operators must monitor advertiser accounts. This includes considering factors such as the number of reports/flags received and compliance with service agreements and community standards. For more information on this initiative from the ETDA, or on any aspect related to Thailand’s regulations for DPSs, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Thammapas Chanpanich at [email protected], Pornpan Wichawut at [email protected],