PDPA in Thailand: One Year of Significant Loopholes

In the wake of the enforcement of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Thailand on June 1, 2022, its significant loopholes that compromise data security became a concerning issue.

The #PDPA needs to be further developed to ensure adequate protection of personal data. Its current form allows for state abuse and unlawful collection of information–some of which users might not even be aware of.

❗Violations committed through the use of AI are yet to be addressed. The Thai government can still violate people’s right to privacy.

📌 Automated or non-automated data collection are still not differentiated, meaning there is no protection against data breaches happening through the use of AI.

In the end, there has been no improvement to the PDPA that would facilitate data privacy and protect people from unlawful invasions of privacy. The government can still collect highly sensitive information about people, without their consent, and even without them knowing.

✊ At #Manushya, we believe that data protection is vital to ensuring our privacy! As the modern digital age is filled with personal data used for a variety of activities, laws must be enacted to keep up with digital advances. This abundance of data comes with a responsibility!

#WeAreManushyan ♾️ Equal Human Beings

👉 Have a read about data protection and digital rights in Thailand here:

• Manushya’s informative post about the PDPA, June 2, 2022

• Manushya’s analysis on the inefficiency of PDPA in addressing high-risk AI technologies: Joint UPR Submission on Digital Rights, March 25, 2021

• Highlights from our session on “How can the Global South Protect Itself from Unchecked AI Ethics and Data Protection?,” at RightsCon 2022, June 14, 2022

• #StopDigitalDictatorship Campaign in Southeast Asia

• Freedom on the Net 2022: Internet Freedom Remained Under Threat in Thailand, October 19, 2022

• Joint Submission to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights ‘The Right to Privacy in the Digital Age: Mass surveillance, Digital Contact-tracing, Social Media Monitoring, and Data Requests in Southeast Asia’, June 2022

• Joint Submission to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression: Freedom, Independence, Diversity of Media and the Safety of Journalists in Southeast Asia, January 2022

• Thailand UPR III Factsheet on Digital Rights, September 9, 2021

#WhatsHappeningInThailand #StopDigitalDictatorship #PeopleOverProfit #DigitalRights #HumanRights #Equality #IntersectionalFeminism #DigitalRightsAreHumanRights #Censorship #OnlinePrivacy #Surveillance #FreeSpeech