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People who break the new data laws face a fine of up to 5 million baht and a 1 year jail sentence. The Royal Thai Police issued this warning ahead of the new Personal Data Protection Act which came into effect today. Under the new law, people can post pictures and video clips of themselves with others for personal purposes online, but they can’t benefit from any commercial gain or cause any damage to the reputation of others. Deputy police spokesman Pol Col Siriwat Deepor says the installation of CCTV will not require a warning sign if it is intended […]

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So Thai police are highlighting a new law and warning people about the repercussions, a law which they break on a daily basis when they post the pointing pictures of people who have beer arrested but haven’t yet been found guilty of the offense in the criminal courts

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14 minutes ago, Cabra said:

Not likely to encourage the highly sought after and ever elusive digital nomad to choose Thailand as a base.

You do not mean the digital nomads, methinks, you mean "influencers", "social media content creators". And alike. 

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10 minutes ago, Pj229 said:

So Thai police are highlighting a new law and warning people about the repercussions, a law which they break on a daily basis when they post the pointing pictures of people who have beer arrested but haven’t yet been found guilty of the offense in the criminal courts

PDPA does not apply to Thai Police indeed (Section 4, point 2).

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49 minutes ago, Thaiger said:

Pol Col Siriwat stressed that consent from the owner of personal data is required, before it can be used to make a contract, undertake a legal process, be used to save a life, research or even the greater good of the public in the interest of protecting individuals’ rights.

 

Just about every paragraph confused me, but the one quoted above tops them all. It means you're not allowed to post without consent even it is for the "greater good", like saving a life. So if I happen to find myself recording a stabbing in progress, I'd have to ask the stabber to kindly pause for a moment so I can get both parties' consent to post the evidence online to the police.

Luckily a source was referenced that made a whole lot more sense. Apart from rectifying awkward phrases like  "make a contract" and "undertake a legal process", it shows that the word "not" was left out in the rewrite.

 

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and supporting statistical research and the public interest.”

There's always a "kicker at the end" (the backdoor for officials)

Who defines the boundaries of this statement?

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Another case of one department saying one thing and the police saying another. Last week Digital Economy said in the first year they would only issue warnings and not fines, much less jail time. 

But after reading this article it’s even more confusing. So say a concert showed a video of a past concert to promote an upcoming one, they need the consent of the 1,000s of people in the audience?

Thailand is always somehow able to take a small good idea (like data protection) and turn it into a monstrous bureaucracy.  

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41 minutes ago, Guest1 said:

You do not mean the digital nomads, methinks, you mean "influencers", "social media content creators". And alike. 

Essentially most anyone trying to make a baht monetizing their platforms and channels on the Internet. Including many digital nomads. 

 

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16 minutes ago, palooka said:

and supporting statistical research and the public interest.”

There's always a "kicker at the end" (the backdoor for officials)

Who defines the boundaries of this statement?

You're right, and moreover the first part is almost an oxymoron: it suggest that something inherently individualistic can be in support of statistical research. But I'll adopt it as my personal backdoor: if ever (however unlikely) I post a picture containing a person who makes a fuss afterwards, I'll claim it's supporting the statistical research into the trend of the average number of people per picture. If that research is not carried out already, I'll start it on the spot.
 

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1 hour ago, Poolie said:

Name one who was later acquitted.

That’s the problem isn’t it. Guilty until proved innocent. 

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This new law and how it will be used in Thailand is extremely concerning. The police have already given examples where people could fall foul of the law. There is reference to where uploading a picture could result in “causing damage to the person”. How and who will establish that damage and define the level of damage? No doubt more litigation by those who can afford it.  Is taking a picture of the PM and making a negative comment seen as politically damaging him? Taking a picture of a taxi driver who refuses to put the meter on could be seen in the same way. What about when Tourist Police walk around bars filming people on their phones? I never give permission for them to film me but they do. I guess that would come under the category of “For the greater good of the public”?  
 

This is a law which is supposed to protect the private data of individuals similar to the GDPR laws in the EU . To make sure companies don’t sell on private information without your consent or misuse your personal data or don’t protect it. I fear in Thailand it will be just another tool used in support of the already heavy handed defamation laws and computer crime laws used to keep those already in power, in power!! 

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16 hours ago, Soidog said:

This is a law which is supposed to protect the private data of individuals similar to the GDPR laws in the EU . To make sure companies don’t sell on private information without your consent or misuse your personal data or don’t protect it. I fear in Thailand it will be just another tool used in support of the already heavy handed defamation laws and computer crime laws used to keep those already in power, in power!! 

This is exactly that.

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3 hours ago, Manu said:

This is exactly that.

Well it is exactly that, but like many laws it is open to interpretation by the courts. The early quotes by senior police indicate to me that they are not viewing it in the same light as the equivalent EU laws. Large corporations are viewing it the right way and in the manner in which the law makers no doubt intended. Why didn’t the police give examples where a company doesn’t ask for your permission to pass on your details and what would happen to them? Why did they instantly talk about photographing people and posting on social media? If there is a dark and sinister way the Elite can use this law then they will find it. 

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