Legislation

Royal Decree on the Operation of Digital Platform Service Business - 6 June 2022

Country: Thailand

Jurisdiction: National

Authority: National Assembly

Legislation type: Executive regulation

Binding: Yes

Source: Visit page

Date of adoption: 2024

Legal Status: In force

Platform(s): Location-based (All) Online (All)

Summary

This Royal Decree prescribes requirements for the notification of operation, submission of information, and disclosure of reports for digital platform service businesses, to be carried out mainly through electronic means.It applies to online and location-based platforms that facilitate electronic transactions, except for those specified by law to be under the regulation of the Bank of Thailand or the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission; and those provided by a State agency not directly involved in commercial business or is not provided mainly in a for-profit manner, and which has been notified to the Agency The decree requires platforms to publish terms of service, including the main criteria used in algorithms for rankings, advertising, and user reviews. It mandates internal complaint-handling systems and support channels for users.

Additional provisions may be included in the original Royal Decree that are not covered in this summary. For complete information, please refer to the full text of the Royal Decree.

Thematic areas

Section 17. For the purposes of promoting transparency and fairness in providing services, the operator under section 16 shall clearly and appropriately publish the terms and conditions of services for users’ knowledge prior to or at the time of the use of the services. The publication must at least include the following matters: (…) (2) main parameters of algorithms or of criteria used by the operator to rank or recommend to users the list of goods or services; (3) main parameters of algorithms or of criteria used by the operator to present an advertisement of goods or services to users; (4) main parameters of algorithms or of criteria used by the operator to collect, moderate and publish user reviews;(…)
Section 17. For the purposes of promoting transparency and fairness in providing services, the operator under section 16 shall clearly and appropriately publish the terms and conditions of services for users’ knowledge prior to or at the time of the use of the services. The publication must at least include the following matters: (...) (6) support channels, internal complaint-handling system, and dispute resolution, as well as the timeframe of such action; (...)

Section 25. The operator shall provide measures to alleviate injuries and to compensate or remedy persons who have been injured by operations of the digital platform service business. Such measures must at least include the following measures: (1) internal complaint-handling system; (2) support channels for assisting or helping users who have been injured from using the service; (3) other measures prescribed in the Notification of the Commission.

Section 31. The Agency shall undertake to establish a central channel for receiving complaints arising from the provision of digital platform services by operators, as a means for receiving complaints from users. The results of the operation shall be reported to the Commission on an annual basis. The provisions in paragraph one shall also apply to digital platform services under section 8 paragraph four mutatis mutandis. The Agency shall also have the power to request cooperation from such digital platform services to resolve the complaints it receives.
Section 25. The operator shall provide measures to alleviate injuries and to compensate or remedy persons who have been injured by operations of the digital platform service business. Such measures must at least include the following measures: (1) internal complaint-handling system; (2) support channels for assisting or helping users who have been injured from using the service; (3) other measures prescribed in the Notification of the Commission.

Section 26. In addition to complying with section 25, the operator under section 16 and section 18 paragraph two shall also include, in the terms and conditions of services, the following measures to alleviate injuries and to compensate or remedy persons who have been injured by operations of the digital platform service business: (1) steps and measures for taking care of users who have been injured from using the service; (2) steps for remedying the injuries and for notifying users of the results of actions taken; (3) identification of the essential contents of an insurance contract put in place by the operator in case of damage (if any); (4) other measures prescribed in the Notification of the Commission.
Section 17. For the purposes of promoting transparency and fairness in providing services, the operator under section 16 shall clearly and appropriately publish the terms and conditions of services for users’ knowledge prior to or at the time of the use of the services. The publication must at least include the following matters: (1) terms and conditions of services, service suspension or termination, and charging of the remuneration; (…)