Social media platforms in Thailand will have to verify the identity of advertisers before publishing paid ads from November 1, under new electronic know-your-customer rules aimed at stopping scammers from using advertising to reach victims. Meta has told Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry that it is ready to comply.
The requirements are set out in the Electronic Transactions Commission’s notification on measures to prevent technology crime for social media service providers (No. 2). Commission chair Vilawan Mangklatanakul signed it on April 23, and it was published in the Royal Gazette on May 5 with a 180-day period before it takes effect. The rules cover Thai and foreign advertisers targeting people in the country.
Providers that receive payment for ads shown in Thailand must verify advertisers before publication, unless the advertiser’s latest verification took place no more than a year earlier. Platforms can check a government-issued identity document and establish that it belongs to the advertiser, for example by comparing facial images, or use a digital identity verification system that meets an assurance level set by the commission.
Platforms must keep the advertiser’s identifying information for at least 90 days after the advertiser stops using the service, including the names of individual advertisers or of companies and the people acting for them, identity or corporate documents, and contact details. Where someone other than the advertiser pays for an ad, the platform must also keep the payer’s information so that those involved can be traced if an offence occurs.
Digital Economy and Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob had asked Meta for stronger advertiser payment verification under the message “No ID, No Ads.” The ministry said Meta will work with it and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency to explain the requirements and help advertisers, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, complete verification on time.
TikTok, LINE, Meta and Google did not attend an October 22 readiness meeting held by the House committee on communications, telecommunications, and digital economy and society, according to deputy chair Pawoot Pongvitayapanu. LINE sent a letter confirming it would comply by November 1, while TikTok and Google gave the committee no assurance. The committee called on the ministry, the development agency and cyber police to prepare compliance checks and take legal action against platforms that fail to meet their obligations.
Sources: Nation Thailand
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
