In brief
The Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) has undertaken multiple initiatives focusing on non-compliant products and services, with a particular emphasis on online platform operators. These include public hearings to support the development of a draft policy framework that redefines responsibility and liability across digital ecosystems.
In parallel, the OCPB is revisiting the Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act to close regulatory gaps and ensure fair access to safe products and services. Additionally, the OCPB has formed a multi‑agency task force to strengthen enforcement against non‑compliant products on digital platforms.
In addition, the Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) is reviewing the Industrial Products Standards Act, with proposed reforms to impose compliance obligations on digital platform operators, particularly regarding online advertising of industrial products.
In more detail
Public hearings on consumer protection in digital transactions
The OCPB has conducted a series of public hearings involving stakeholders from government agencies, law enforcement, the private sector, and industry associations to gather input on a draft policy framework addressing consumer protection challenges in digital transactions.
The hearings emphasized a paradigm shift from reactive enforcement to proactive prevention.
Key proposed principles include:
- System‑by‑design safety: Moving from consumer warnings toward designing safer digital systems from the outset
- Shared responsibility: Distributing liability among platforms, telecommunications operators, and service providers
- Real‑time intervention: Detecting and stopping harmful activities as they occur, rather than relying solely on post‑incident remedies
- Platform accountability: Requiring platforms to act as gatekeepers, including mandatory seller KYC obligations
The research team also proposed a proactive prevention framework based on three core pillars:
- Shared accountability structures: Including stronger platform regulation and clearly defined responsibilities for telecom operators
- Technology and data utilization: Such as AI driven real time threat detection, transaction delay mechanisms for high risk transfers, and shared enforcement databases
- Consumer empowerment: Including targeted behavioral interventions, digital transaction insurance, and a centralized one stop consumer complaint system
Joint crackdown on substandard products on online platforms
The OCPB continues to work through a joint enforcement task force with the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC), the TISI, the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), and the Online Anti‑Scam Center (ACSC) to implement proactive measures against products that fail to meet regulatory standards, particularly those lacking the Thai Industrial Standards (TIS) mark.
Key measures under the pilot takedown initiative include:
- Immediate removal of non-compliant and unsafe products: The Consumers Council has actively monitored online platforms and submitted verified lists of non-compliant products to platforms for removal.
- Platform cooperation and ongoing monitoring: Participating platforms have agreed to report takedown results and support continuous evaluation of the project, including active screening of products without required standards or TIS certification.
The ACSC will further support enforcement efforts by expanding investigations into illegal products and related fraudulent activities.
Reform of the Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act
The OCPB has taken a significant step toward modernizing Thailand’s consumer protection framework by initiating public consultations to amend the Direct Sales and Direct Marketing Act. This reform responds to the rapid growth of online and platform‑based direct marketing, which has outpaced the current legal framework enacted in 2002.
Key objectives of the proposed reform include:
- Strengthening fair access to safe products and services
- Ensuring fair contract terms
- Updating consumer rights protections to reflect digital and platform-based sales models
The OCPB emphasized that the consultation process is not merely procedural but represents a co design of new rules with stakeholders to ensure the law is practical, enforceable, and future-ready.
Reform of the Industrial Products Standards Act
The TISI has proposed updates to the Industrial Products Standards Act in response to persistent enforcement challenges under the existing legal framework and the evolving nature of trade, particularly the rise of online commerce as a primary distribution channel for industrial products.
Under the Draft Industrial Products Standards Act, new obligations are explicitly imposed on digital marketplace platform operators. In particular, platforms are prohibited from advertising industrial products that do not display the required TIS mark or fail to display, in electronic form, information relating to an industrial product that has obtained a license, with no statutory exceptions. Non‑compliance may result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine of up to THB 500,000.
TCC proposals
Apart from the legal framework above, the TCC recently urged the Thai government to strengthen the law in three key areas: (1) granting the authority to order platforms to take proactive action when online threats are detected; (2) heighten the penalties to be proportionate to the revenue of the platforms; and (3) requiring platforms to share responsibility for damages occurring within their own services.
Key takeaways
Through multiple initiatives, both independently and in collaboration with other regulators, the OCPB is significantly increasing scrutiny of online platforms. In parallel, the TISI has also initiated reforms that reinforce regulatory expectations for platform operators. Platform operators should closely monitor new regulatory requirements and legislative amendments, particularly those affecting how products and services are offered, advertised and monitored.
With active surveillance, expected takedowns, and forthcoming enforcement mechanisms, businesses can expect increased compliance obligations that may have a direct impact on platform operations, risk management, and liability exposure.
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Pimpisa Ardborirak, Associate, has contributed to this legal update