Thailand hopes to save more than 5 billion baht annually by implementing the Government Platform for PDPA Compliance (GPPC). Therefore, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, the National Digital Economy and Society Commission, and the Personal Data Protection Commission jointly organised a seminar to kick-start the development of the government platform.
More than 300 academics attended the seminar. The event also aimed at executives from 200 government and private agencies. They will discuss criteria, mechanisms, and regulatory measures for personal data protection at the event.
Chaiwut Thanakmanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, emphasised that the data protection act has become a central law governing public and private sector operations. All activities involving collecting, using, or disclosing personal data must adhere to the terms of the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2019.
“To prepare for all sectors in practice to be in the same direction, efficient and in line with international standards, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society has prepared a draft. The draft policy for government platform development is in line with personal data protection laws and has already been approved by the National Digital Economy and Society Committee,” Chaiwut explained.
The National Digital Economy and Society Committee approved the draft at the 3/2021 meeting on November 18, 2021. It will serve as a framework for the platform’s development direction and goals. Implementing personal data protection will reduce the burden on the overall government budget, build trust and support the development of digital technology.
The Personal Data Protection Commission (SorSorSor) and the National Digital Economy and Society Commission (NorSorChor) have been tasked with jointly promoting and developing government platforms to support Personal Data Protection Laws compliance. In addition, both agencies will ensure the platform’s long-term viability and expansion.
Special Professor Wisit Wisitsorn-at, Permanent Secretary for Digital Economy and Society, added that the country currently relies on international platforms that charge an annual fee, wasting the national budget. Creating government platforms to support compliance with personal data protection legislation is expected to save the government more than 5,000 million baht annually. Furthermore, the project will benefit the private sector in the future. In addition, the government permits entrepreneurs to use the platform for further open-source development.
One of the primary goals of the GPPC is to design and develop government platforms to support compliance with personal data protection laws. The platform organises activities to increase knowledge and understanding of personal data protection, as well as guidelines and processes for monitoring and supervising compliance on a global scale.
Siwarak Siwamoksatham, Secretary-General of the Personal Data Protection Committee, found that the act covers all actions of any person or entity that collects, uses, or discloses personal data and performs as a data controller or a data processor and that they must have the duty and responsibility to carry out the law’s requirements. Accordingly, government agencies that are juristic persons whose mission is to collect, use, or disclose personal data are considered data controllers whose responsibility must comply with this law’s requirements.
Furthermore, GPPC was established to assist government agencies in meeting legal requirements more appropriately and efficiently. Moreover, implementing this project will strengthen the country’s data protection.
After being delayed since 2019, Thailand’s first-ever personal data protection law went into effect on June 1, 2022. The law establishes enterprises’ responsibilities for collecting and processing personal data. The government is expected to grant SMEs a grace period to comply with the new law.
