Governance of Digital Platforms

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, Governance, Digital Platform

Therefore, the Royal Decree on the Operation of Digital Platform Services (“the Royal Decree”) and the Notification of the Electronic Transactions Commission regarding the Nature of Digital Platform Services Required to Give Notice of Brief Information dated 29 June 2023 (“the ETC Notification”) have been issued pursuant to the Electronic Transactions Act, 2544 B.E., with effect from 20 August 2023 and 21 August 2023, respectively.

To whom does the Royal Decree apply?

This Royal Decree applies to all digital platform service providers which provide electronic media for connecting business operators to consumers or buyers through a network, regardless of whether or not a service fee is charged inside or outside of Thailand. The followings digital platform service providers are required to notify the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (“the ETDA”) of its operations in Thailand.

Domestic digital platform service provider

International digital service provider

1. A company that is providing digital platform services:

Gross income of more than THB 50 million per year; or
More than 5,000 users/visitors to the digital platform per month.

Information displayed wholly or partially in Thai;
Register a Thai domain name, e.g., “.th”, or use a Thai domain name;
Have an option for payment in Thai currency;
Apply Thai law as the governing law or rely on Thai courts to solve any disputes;
Pay remuneration to search engine service providers to let users access the digital platform;
Have an office or person to support users of the digital platform in Thailand; or
Meet other criteria to be prescribed by the Electronic Transactions Commission.

2. An individual that is providing digital platform services:

Gross income of more than THB 1.8 million per year; or
More than 5,000 users/visitors to the digital platform per month.

Those international digital platform service providers which meet the conditions listed above must appoint a person in Thailand as a coordinator. Such an international digital platform service provider is not considered to have established a business in Thailand. The legal documents of the international digital service provider must be prepared notarized, and translated into Thai, with the translation being certified as correct by the Translation Institute in Thailand.

Any digital platform service providers which do not meet the above conditions will still need to provide brief information about their platform to the ETDA before commencing business, and annually thereafter.

To whom does the Royal Decree not apply?

The Royal Decree does not apply to the following digital platform service providers:

Those under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand or the Securities and Exchange Commission; or
Those operated by a government agency and not involved in commercial business, and which have notified the ETDA of their operations.

Timeframe for notification

Under the Royal Decree, digital platform service providers which operated such a business in Thailand before the Royal Decree took effect and which meet the conditions set out in the table above are required to provide information about their platforms to the ETDA within 90 days of the Royal Decree coming into effect (18 November 2023). Those digital platform service providers to which the ETC Notification applies must provide information about their platforms to the ETDA by 20 August 2024.

Those digital platform service providers which begin conducting business after the Royal Decree took effect must notify the ETDA before commencing business.

A small digital platform service provider is defined as follows:

A company that provides digital platform services and has gross income of less than THB 50 million per year and less than 5,000 users/visitors to the digital platform per month.
An individual that provides digital platform services and has gross income of less than THB 1.8 million per year and less than 5,000 users/visitors to the digital platform per month.

Duties after notifying the ETDA

Filing an annual report: Individuals who provide digital platform services must file an annual report with the ETDA within 60 days of the calendar year-end. Companies which provide digital platform services must file the report within 60 days of the company’s fiscal year-end.

Notifying the ETDA of any changes: Providers (both individuals and companies) of digital platform services must notify the ETDA in the event of any change in the following, within 30 days of the change: the name or address of the business; the channel through which the digital platform services are provided; or the coordinator.

Penalty for non-compliance

Suspension of business: If a digital platform service provider fails to meet its obligations under the Royal Decree, the ETDA may issue an order for the provider’s business to be suspended until it has complied with its obligations.

Penalties and fines: Failure to notify the ETDA of operating a digital platform may result in a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine of up to THB 100,000, or both. If the violator is a company, the company’s directors can be held jointly liable.

References:

The Electronic Transactions Act, 2544 B.E.

The Royal Decree on the Operation of Digital Platform Services that are Subject to Prior Notification, 2565 B.E.

https://www.etda.or.th/th/regulator/Digitalplatform/index.aspx