More than 1,000 digital platform service operators have registered with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) system, in line with the digital platform service (DPS) law.
The law regulates digital platforms and took effect on Aug 21 last year, intending to transparently govern operators and promote consumer protection.
The agency is preparing to issue its ETDA DPS Notified mark to registered operators to enhance consumer confidence in these platforms, said Chaichana Mitrpant, executive director of the ETDA.
According to the agency, 1,168 Thai and international digital platform operators have registered with the system. Thai-owned platforms, including online marketplaces, led the registration.
Of the registered platforms, the largest group is online marketplaces, comprising 302 platforms, followed by 199 online communications platforms and 78 news aggregator service platforms.
Some 94.5% of these platforms are of Thai origin. The foreign countries with the highest number of registered platforms are Singapore, Japan, the US and China.
The DPS law obliges platform operators wanting to do business in Thailand to provide details to the ETDA before they can start operating. Existing operators had until Nov 18, 2023 to provide the information.
The law applies to individuals who operate online with revenue of more than 1.8 million baht per year before expenses, and juristic entities with revenue of more than 50 million baht per year before expenses.
The law also applies to individuals and juristic entities with more than 5,000 service users per month.
Mr Chaichana said Thais can trust registered platforms bearing the ETDA DPS Notified mark, as the identity of the platforms has been verified and contact channels were provided to resolve problems.
He said ETDA plays a crucial role in promoting and supporting secure and trustworthy online transactions, which is vital for increasing economic value and elevating Thailand's digital competitiveness in the future.
The Digital ID law and DPS law both focus on regulatory supervision and promotion efforts to ensure secure online transactions, said Mr Chaichana.
Jitsatha Sriprasertsuk, deputy executive director of ETDA, said the registration system represents a significant step for the agency in creating a clearer picture of the DPS landscape in Thailand.
She said the next step involves ETDA elevating transparency and fairness among digital platform service operators.
The agency is urging platforms that have yet to register to do so under the DPS law, said Ms Jitsatha.
Roughly 100 platforms have yet to register with the agency, she said.
ETDA will also ask registered platforms to submit annual reports to it for data updates, said Ms Jitsatha.
These reports should include key details such as pre-tax revenue from service in Thailand, the number and types of service users, as well as the declaration of terms and conditions to service users in cases where platforms provide services subject to Article 16, such as fee-based services, acting as intermediaries for product or service offerings, or search engine services.
The platform operators must finalise the annual reports and send them to ETDA by Feb 29, she said.
Ms Jitsatha said the ETDA DPS Notified mark will be issued soon.
Registered platforms that are verified will be approved to bear the mark on their platforms, according to the methods and conditions set by the agency.
She advised consumers to look for the mark before using a platform service, clicking on it to check important details such as the service name, characteristics, availability and contact channels.
