Digital platform owners confused by new cyber decree
Business owners are confused about the Royal Decree on Operation of Digital Platform Services Which Require Notification, as its obligations are unclear, say legal experts.
Digital platform providers are obliged to submit information, including details about their owners and services, revenues, users' data, most common complaint issues, and the coordinator in Thailand (only for oversea platforms) to the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), according to the Royal Decree.
The new cyber law was published in the Government Gazette on December 22, last year, and set to be effective in August this year.
Existing digital platform providers are required to notify ETDA within 90 days of the decree becoming effective, while new digital platform operators must send that information before launching operations. Penalties for non-compliance include business suspension and criminal action.
Pattaraphan Paiboon, of law firm Baker McKenzie, said the definition of "digital platform" in the decree is still murky.
The royal decree defines a “digital platform” as an electronic intermediary platform that manages information to create connections between “merchants”, “consumers”, and “users” via a computer network in order to “create electronic transactions”.
But it is still up for debate which businesses qualify as digital platforms, Pattaraphan told the seminar “TU Law x Baker McKenzie Tech Law Series: 7th Episode Digital Platform Laws”.
“Food delivery platforms are generally described as digital platforms since they incorporate all three players – merchants (a platform), customers (restaurants), and users (buyers) – with the intention of generating electronic transactions (buying food),” she said.
However, some people question whether social media should be included in the category of digital platforms. While social media platforms possess all three elements, their intentions are still debatable, with some claiming they are for communication while others believe they are for creating electronic transactions, she said.
Chonladet Khemarattana, president of the Thai Fintech Association, agreed it was not clear whether an internet forum like a webboard should be considered a digital platform.
“Evidently, a webboard such as Pantip is made for information exchange, not for selling or buying things. However, there are actually many people buying and selling goods there,” he pointed out.
The decree also requires digital platform owners to inform users of important information before or at the time of service, including conditions for provision or suspension, criteria used to recommend or advertise goods or services, and feedback from other users.
This requirement of the new law could cause problems for digital platform providers as it may reveal their business secrets, said Pawee Jenweeranon, a law lecturer at Thammasat University.
He added that the law must find a balance between the protection of platform users and corporate secrecy.
Among those exempted from this requirement are digital platforms overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bank of Thailand.
Related Stories:
