New decree next month: Banks, phone firms, platforms to share liability

Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Chantararuangthong said on Thursday that a new decree would be announced next month, requiring banks, mobile phone operators, and social media platform operators to share responsibility for online scams.

Prasert stated that the final draft of the executive decree on measures for the prevention and suppression of technological crimes would be completed by the end of this month and published in the Royal Gazette, replacing the current decree issued in 2023.

He said that mobile phone operators, banks, and platform operators had been summoned by the DES Ministry to be briefed on the measures they would be required to comply with once the new decree takes effect.

Prasert noted that only a few details remained to be finalised.

Among the measures, he said, banks would be required to conduct more thorough checks before allowing new bank accounts to be opened.

He stated that banks would have to verify whether applicants were blacklisted as mule account holders or members of online scam gangs.

If banks allow blacklisted individuals to open accounts, they would be required to take responsibility for any damage caused by such accounts, Prasert said.

When asked how much banks and mobile phone operators would be liable for in terms of damages, Prasert said it would depend on court rulings determining which party was more at fault.

Asked whether court trials would take a long time, Prasert said they would not. He indicated that the new law would require cases to be settled by a single court, rather than three courts as in past practice.