DES minister urges patrons to file complaints against Nonthaburi pub
Asked to file complaints with police if ID cards or faces photographed by Moon Bar
Digital Economy and Society (DES) Minister Prasert Chanthararuangthong on Monday urged patrons of a well-known pub in Nonthaburi to file complaints with police if their ID cards or faces had been photographed by the bar.
Prasert said the Moon Bar in Bang Yai district had clearly violated the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) by taking photos of its clients’ identity cards or faces when they entered.
Earlier, a Facebook post claimed that the Moon Bar took photos of faces and ID cards of its clients and sold them to illegal business groups, such as online gambling websites.
After the post was made, several clients of the Moon Bar filed complaints with the Bang Yai police station alleging their ID cards were photographed by the bar and might be sold to criminal groups.
After the pub made headlines, Yanipat Srikote, Bang Yai district chief, led a team of police and Provincial Administration Department officials to investigate the pub. However, the inspection did not detect any illegal activities and none of the clients were under the legal age of 20 years old.
The pub manager then informed Yanipat that the place would be closed for five days for security and service improvements.
On Monday, Prasert said he had learned that so far 65 clients of the pub had filed complaints with police but he would like more clients to complain before proceeding.
He said he had instructed the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) to investigate the case.
Prasert said anyone who suspected that their personal data was breached by the pub could ask the Eagle Eyes unit of the DES Ministry to investigate.
