On October 31 and November 16, 2023, the Electronic Transaction Development Agency (ETDA) published two subordinate regulations under the Royal Decree on Digital Platform Services (DPS) (the Royal Decree). Namely the 'Notification of the Electronic Transactions Commission Re: Criteria for Impact Assessment on Operation of Digital Platform Services' and the 'Notification Re: Manual for Identification and Verification Process.'

How will the regulation on impact assessments on DPS impact businesses?

The regulation outlines the criteria for determining DPSs that are high-risk, thereby subjecting them to additional obligations. The criteria include:

• DPSs with an annual transaction value exceeding THB 100 million (approx. $2,848,606) in Thailand;
• unregistered DPS operators, especially overseas entities, with 100 or more merchants or business users in Thailand, or users constituting five to 10% of the population; and
• DPSs permitting users to post messages or acts impacting the public, including unlawful content, violations of child rights or fundamental rights, and content affecting political opinions or individuals due to gender differences or sexual violence.

Therefore, once the ETDA publishes the list of high-risk DPSs, they will be subject to further obligations as stipulated in the Royal Decree.

What are the requirements for the identification and verification of DPS users?

The ETDA specified guidelines and standards for verifying the identity of high-risk or potentially impactful users. Such users may have greater access privileges or additional features, may have followers exceeding a specified threshold, and may surpass defined limits in transaction volumes or frequencies. Consequently, DPS operators should undertake the following measures for user identity verification:  

• verify the identity of applicants for DPS user registration through identity providers;
• collect user data for the purpose of verification and authentication;
• determine the access rights and features accessible on the platform based on user data collected;
• display symbols or statements confirming identity verification and authentication; and
• ensure reliable identity verification for user logins.

You can read the high-risk assessment regulation here and the identity verification regulation here, both only available in Thai.