Thailand is preparing to increase oversight of digital marketplaces, adding rules for certain types of platforms to strengthen consumer protection and ensure responsible e-commerce, according to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA).
The government has vowed to more closely supervise those deemed to be “high impact” platforms with a large number of consumers, seeking to address subpar products in an effort to protect the customer interest.
The proposed regulations target online marketplaces and social commerce platforms characterised by high transaction volumes or large user bases.
ETDA officials met on Wednesday with executives of digital platform operators to update them on their roles under the existing Digital Platform Services (DPS) royal decree published in the Royal Gazette on Dec 23, 2022.
The agency has also drafted an organic law based on the decree, which is a notification from the Digital Platform Services Committee (DPSC) assigning additional duties to digital marketplaces with specific characteristics as defined by Section 18(2) of the DPS decree.
The draft also applies to platforms that serve as intermediaries for product sales, such as online marketplaces and social commerce platforms that have an annual transaction value in Thailand of more than 100 million baht.
Also covered are platforms that are not registered as a legal entity with the Department of Business Development and have more than 100 Thai business users, or an average user base of between 5% and 10% of the national population.
Additional characteristics include lack of effective oversight of user actions that could lead to illegal activities, human rights violations or an impact on personal data.
According to the draft law, these kinds of platforms have additional duties, including an obligation to register as a legal entity under Thai law, submit operational reports to the authorities, and collect and verify the data of their merchants.
They must also cooperate with government agencies in reporting the legal violations of their merchants, as well as screening products prior to selling or advertising them to ensure they comply with standards.
Moreover, they must display product details on their pages and set up a “notice and takedown” mechanism for non-compliant goods.
The existing DPS law obliges platforms seeking to operate in Thailand to provide certain details to ETDA before they can start their business here.
More than 2,000 platforms have provided their business operation information to ETDA, and the agency estimates 10% fall into the category of additional duties, as specified by the DPSC notification.
“The meeting with the digital platform operators marks another step following nearly three years of DPS law enforcement,” said Chaichana Mitrpant, the ETDA executive director.
The operators had an opportunity to discuss business issues, update each other on best practices, and clarify their roles and responsibilities, he said.
The ETDA is developing related guidelines for platforms, including rules for managing product advertising and non-standard goods, said Mr Chaichana.
The next step for the agency is determining the high-impact platforms and the types of high-impact services that the draft will cover, he said.
Authorities indicated that the draft is expected to become law in August.