The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), under the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, has announced the “Digital Platform Advertising Guidelines” under the “Digital Platform Services (DPS) Law”. These guidelines aim to regulate online advertising for digital platform providers, covering everything from “identity verification, inspection, and data collection” to address the issues of deceptive and illegal advertising.
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Mr. Chaichana Mitrpant, Director of ETDA, stated that the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society recognizes the significance of online scams occurring through various digital platforms. Therefore, it has a proactive policy to continuously address this issue. To support this policy and promote self-regulation among digital platform service providers, as per Article 32 of the Royal Decree on Notifying Digital Platform Services B.E. 2565 (DPS Law), which covers advertising on digital platforms, ETDA, as the regulatory body for digital platform businesses under this law, has developed the “Digital Platform Advertising Guidelines.”
Officially announced on June 11, 2023, these guidelines serve as a framework for self-regulation by digital platform businesses. They aim to enhance the credibility and traceability of advertising on platforms, reducing problems arising from fraudulent and deceptive online advertising. These problems include investment scams, impersonation of individuals, shops, or other businesses, and the sale of counterfeit goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Additionally, the guidelines address the spread of fake news, distorted information, or false data, as well as advertising that promotes illegal activities like gambling.
The guidelines cover two key areas:
- Screening and Data Collection: This includes verifying the identity of advertisers through registration methods such as the ThaID application by the Department of Provincial Administration, Ministry of Interior, or through the business’s own system, adhering to established standards of identity verification.If no system is available, verification must involve at least the advertiser’s name,surname, or legal entity name, along with their ID card or passport number and clear contact information. Additionally, advertiser data must be collected, and records must be maintained for monitoring suspicious advertisements (Watchlist), legal violations or platform terms of service violations (Blacklist), and trusted advertisers (Whitelist). The guidelines also outline pre-publication ad screening procedures, specifying prohibited or restricted ad types and those requiring prior authorization.
- Monitoring Advertisers and Ads Post-Publication: This involves assessing advertiser quality based on the number and types of reports/flaggings and their compliance with service terms. Post-publication ad monitoring utilizes automated systems, with prioritization criteria for manual review by staff for specific ad types beyond automated checks. The guidelines also mandate establishing channels for reporting ads, such as those involving image or video impersonation, intellectual property infringement, or illegal investment solicitations.
These guidelines serve as a reference for digital platform businesses to manage advertising on their platforms. They can be adapted to suit different types of digital platform services as appropriate.
Interested digital platform businesses or individuals can download the complete “Digital Platform Advertising Guidelines” at https://bit.ly/4edonVr or inquire for further information by calling 02-123-1234 (contact the DPS Law Regulatory Team) during business hours (9:00 AM – 5:00 PM) or through the website https://www.etda.or.th/th/regulator/Digitalplatform/index.aspx.
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