thailand-pdpa

Thailand PDPA Compliance

Overview

Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (PDPA), published in the Royal Gazette on 27 May 2019, became fully effective on 1 June 2022 after two postponements from the original 2020 effective date. The PDPA applies to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data by data controllers and data processors in Thailand, and extraterritorially where activities target data subjects in Thailand (Section 5).

The Personal Data Protection Committee (PDPC, คณะกรรมการคุ้มครองข้อมูลส่วนบุคคล) is the supervisory authority established under Section 8. The Office of the Personal Data Protection Committee (OPDPC) serves as the operational secretariat.

Lawful Bases for Processing (Section 24)

Basis	Section	Detail
Consent	Section 19	Explicit consent; freely given, specific, informed; written or electronic; may be withdrawn at any time
Contract performance	Section 24(3)	Necessary for performance of a contract to which the data subject is a party
Vital interests	Section 24(4)	Necessary to prevent or suppress danger to life, body, or health
Public task	Section 24(4)	Necessary for public interest tasks or exercise of official authority
Legitimate interest	Section 24(5)	Legitimate interests of the controller or third party, balanced against data subject's fundamental rights
Legal obligation	Section 24(6)	Compliance with a law to which the controller is subject
Archiving/research	Section 24(1)	Necessary for archiving, research, or statistics in the public interest with appropriate safeguards

Sensitive Data (Section 26)

Sensitive data categories: racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, criminal records, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, health data, disability data, sexual orientation, and any other data prescribed by the PDPC.

Processing requires explicit consent unless:

• Necessary to prevent or suppress danger to life, body, or health (Section 26(1))
• Relating to lawful activities of non-profit organisations regarding members (Section 26(2))
• Personal data manifestly made public by the data subject (Section 26(3))
• Necessary for legal claims (Section 26(4))
• Necessary for compliance with employment law (Section 26(5))

Consent Framework

Consent Requirements (Section 19)

Requirement	Detail
Explicit	Must be an express statement or conduct clearly indicating agreement
Freely given	Must not be a condition of service where unnecessary; no bundling with T&Cs (Section 19(4))
Specific	Consent per purpose; blanket consent is invalid
Informed	Full disclosure of purpose, data items, recipients, retention period
Written or electronic	Written request for consent must be clear, not misleading, easily accessible
Withdrawal	Data subject may withdraw at any time; withdrawal must be as easy as giving consent (Section 19(5))
Children	Under 10 years: consent from parent/legal guardian; 10 years and above: may consent if age-appropriate understanding demonstrated

Implementation at Zenith Global Enterprises

Processing Activity	Consent Type	Mechanism
Customer freight services	Contract performance (Section 24(3)) — consent not required	N/A
Marketing communications	Explicit consent (Section 19)	Opt-in checkbox in Thai and English
Employee health data processing	Explicit consent for sensitive data (Section 26)	Written consent form at onboarding
Cross-border transfer to EU HQ	Explicit consent with transfer disclosure (Section 28)	Dedicated transfer consent form

DPO Requirements (Section 41-42)

When DPO Appointment is Required

The PDPC Notification on DPO Appointment Criteria (2022) requires a DPO when:

• The data controller or processor is a public authority (except courts acting in judicial capacity)
• Core activities require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale
• Core activities consist of processing sensitive data or criminal records on a large scale

DPO Responsibilities (Section 42)

Responsibility	Detail
Advise on compliance	Advise the controller/processor on PDPA compliance obligations
Monitor compliance	Monitor compliance with the PDPA and internal policies
Audit coordination	Cooperate with the OPDPC; act as the contact point for the OPDPC
Confidentiality	Maintain confidentiality of personal data accessed in the course of duties
Independence	Must be able to perform duties independently; no dismissal for performing duties

Zenith Global Enterprises DPO

Element	Detail
DPO (Thailand)	Siriporn Chaiyaporn, Compliance Manager — Bangkok office
Contact	dpo-thailand@zenithglobal.co.th
Reporting line	Reports to Chief Privacy Officer; independent reporting access to Board of Directors

Cross-Border Transfer (Section 28)

Transfer Conditions

Personal data may be transferred to a foreign country or international organisation only if:

Condition	Section	Detail
Adequate protection	Section 28(1)	Destination has adequate personal data protection standards as determined by the PDPC
Compliance with group rules	Section 28(3)	Transfer within a group of undertakings conducting business together, with appropriate data protection policies inspected and certified by the OPDPC (BCR equivalent)
Contract necessity	Section 28(4)(a)	Necessary for contract performance with the data subject
Consent	Section 28(4)(b)	Data subject's consent after being informed of inadequate standards
Vital interests	Section 28(4)(c)	Necessary to prevent or suppress danger to life, body, or health
Legal obligation	Section 28(4)(d)	Necessary for important reasons of public interest
Legal claims	Section 28(4)(e)	Necessary for establishing, exercising, or defending legal claims
Appropriate safeguards	Section 28(2)	Appropriate protection measures prescribed by the PDPC are in place

PDPC Adequacy Determinations

As of March 2026, the PDPC has not published a formal list of adequate countries. Transfers primarily rely on consent, contract necessity, or appropriate safeguards.

Data Subject Rights (Sections 30-36)

Right	Section	Response Deadline	Implementation
Right of access	Section 30	Within 30 days	Privacy portal in Thai and English
Right to data portability	Section 31	Within 30 days	Structured format (JSON/CSV)
Right to object	Section 32	Without unreasonable delay	Objection mechanism in customer portal
Right to erasure	Section 33	Without unreasonable delay	Automated deletion with legal hold check
Right to restriction	Section 34	Without unreasonable delay	Processing flagging system
Right to rectification	Section 35	Without unreasonable delay	Self-service correction in portal
Right to withdraw consent	Section 19(5)	Without unreasonable delay	One-click withdrawal mechanism

Breach Notification (Section 37(4))

Element	Requirement
OPDPC notification	Within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach
Data subject notification	Without delay if the breach is likely to affect rights and freedoms
Content	Nature of breach, DPO contact, likely consequences, remedial measures
Cross-border	Notify the OPDPC even if the breach occurred outside Thailand if Thai data subjects are affected

Enforcement (Sections 90-91)

Administrative Fines

• Up to THB 5 million (approximately USD 140,000) per violation

Criminal Penalties

• Imprisonment up to 1 year and/or fine up to THB 1 million for certain violations (Section 90)
• Apply to natural persons responsible for the violation

Punitive Damages

• Court may award punitive damages up to double the actual damages (Section 78)

Notable PDPC Actions

• The PDPC has issued multiple compliance guidance documents since 2022
• Enforcement focus initially on education and compliance guidance, transitioning to formal enforcement from 2024
• Sectoral guidance published for: financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, e-commerce

Compliance Programme

Component	Detail
DPO	Siriporn Chaiyaporn, Bangkok office
Privacy notice	Published at zenithglobal.co.th/privacy in Thai and English
Consent management	Platform with Thai language support; separate consent per purpose
ROPA	Processing activities register maintained per Section 39
Breach notification	72-hour workflow to OPDPC; data subject notification procedure
Cross-border safeguards	Consent-based transfers with disclosure; intra-group policy for headquarters transfers
Employee training	Annual PDPA training for all Thailand employees
Data subject rights	30-day response workflow via privacy portal