On May 28th, 2019, the Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”) became law in Thailand. It is the country’s very first legislation governing data protection. Originally, a one-year grace period was determined for implementation of the requirements so that companies could prepare for the prospective liabilities in order to become compliant with the PDPA. However, on May 21st, 2020, a Royal Decree extended the implementation of the PDPA’s key provisions for another year, until June 1st, 2021 (we reported). Currently, a further postponement of the PDPA’s enforcement date is being considered.

According to new Digital Economy and Society (“DES”) Minister, consideration may be given to deferring or amending the PDPA, if the public has negative views about it. The aim is to support small and medium-sized businesses affected by the legislation since most of them are still unprepared for the new obligations and have not adjusted their internal processes yet. In addition, there is an unfortunate lack of willingness among companies concerned, as deputy permanent secretary at the DES Ministry stated. These shortcomings are reflected by the fact that some associations, including the travel and automotive industries, have already requested the deferral of the PDPA’s enforcement.

Contrary to what was initially planned, the appointment of members to the Personal Data Protection Committee is also expected to be delayed further. The Committee plays a decisive role in the approval of subsidiary legislation. The drafts for this concern consent procedures, complaint reception and expert panels.

According to the current status, the PDPA needs further adjustments and necessary regulations still need to be drafted, as many issues have been raised for consultation with regard to the PDPA since it came into effect. The main priorities on which the government intends to focus are as follows:

• Supporting people’s access to innovation and technology,
• Creating an ecosystem conducive to a digital economy,
• Gearing up for digital infrastructure development, particularly 5G and smart city projects,
• Legal development and enforcement to create a trusted digital ecosystem, especially for the PDPA and issues related to electronic transactions and cybersecurity,
• Protecting the public from abuse on social media and the internet.

The DES Ministry expects that full enforcement of the PDPA will likely be delayed until the end of this year.