Govt in race against time to update data privacy law

By Asina Pornwasin 
The Nation 

 

The Personal Data Protection Commission has fined 22 organisations a total of $216,500 over the past two years for security breaches that exposed the personal details of Singaporeans. AFP/ANN

 

Experts call for quick action amid growing ecommerce, data breach fears and upcoming tough new EU legislation

 

THAILAND needs to quickly enact data privacy legislation as the country moves ahead with the digital economy and society platforms, according to legal and other experts.

 

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) is currently revising a 10-year-old draft of the proposed law to catch up with the latest challenges as evidenced by the recent personal data leak fears involving telecom operator TrueMoveH. It is feared that the security of ID-card and other personal data of more than 10,000 Thai customers might have been compromised.

 

Bhume Bhumiratana, a researcher and expert on cybersecurity, said MDES was expected to finalise the new draft for Cabinet approval and enactment by the National Legislative Assembly by the end of this year, even though the European Union’s (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law is due to be effective from May 25 this year.

 

The GDPR is said to be the world’s new legal standard on data privacy and related regulations with its enforcement affecting other countries, including Thailand, as the personal data of all EU citizens will be protected under the new EU law with binding conditions for companies with EU customers.

 

Paiboon Amonpinyokeat, a cyber law expert, said the MDES will have to update the new draft law to cover data leaks as happened recently in the TrueMoveH case so that preventive and remedial measures could be taken in the future.

 

In addition, the new draft needs to cover the latest developments in e-commerce, given the advent of Alibaba and other online giants, since Thai laws currently cover only persons and juristic persons as data controllers and processors whereas today’s robots and artificial intelligence (AI) machines are used for those tasks in e-commerce and related transactions.

 

Paiboon said Thais still have a low awareness of data privacy issues, which are becoming crucial in their daily life due to the fast-growing development of online and mobile banking, e-commerce and other digital services.

 

Bhume said the lack of a data privacy law has led to consumer abuse, which will become widespread in the coming years due to the advancement of the digital economy and society.

 

For example, banks have used their customer data without specific consent from customers, allowing sales personnel to follow up with customers without authorisation after customers open their bank accounts.

 

In the case of the EU’s GDPR law, customer consent needs to be specific to prevent data abuse, he said, while Prinya Hom-anek, president and chief executive officer of ACIS Professional Centre, said data abuse is widespread and there is no law to require the removal of such data.

 

Paiboon said the EU’s GDPR law will also impact Thailand and Thai businesses with EU customers since the country will be required to enforce applicable laws consistent with the EU law. For example, Thai firms will be required to report any data leak involving EU citizens within 72 hours and the country could be on the EU blacklist if it did not comply with the EU law.

 

In addition, the EU law imposes a heavy penalty on violators. A company which breaks the law could face a fine of up to 4 per cent of its annual sales turnover. The EU law also has clauses on the right to be forgotten, meaning that owners of personal data have the right to delete their data.

 

Paiboon said Thailand’s fast-growing e-commerce sector would be hit by the EU law if there were compliance issues, affecting the country’s push for the digital economy as there was no prior arrangement with the EU ahead of the enforcement.

 

The new MDES draft, he said, needed to ensure that personal identities of Thai citizens were adequately protected both online and offline since more cyber-criminals would turn to abuse loopholes such as using fake online IDs as well as fake physical ID cards. The government must invest in mechanisms that can plug these loopholes, he said.

 

Paiboon said about 40-50 per cent of the old draft needed to be rewritten to meet the latest challenges on data privacy and related issues, citing disclosure of personal data as another example.

 

Online service providers should be required to adopt the minimisation rule so that all personal data is not disclosed by service providers unless each of the data is specifically consented by data owners.

 

Arthit Suriyawongkul, coordinator of Thai Netizens Network, said the country needed a more independent regulatory body on data privacy and related issues, while Paiboon said the MDES should no longer head the body as its new structure should be like that of the National Human Rights Commission.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30344739

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-05-07

Kind of related but was just having a chat with a buddy on the way to work..

With us going more and more cashless, everyone is going to know everything about you. Even more than they do now !!

For example, your doctor asks how many units of alcohol you drink a week ? We go, errrrrr 5 maybe 6... He looks at his computer and it tells him exactly how much you spent in the pub :)

Same with insurance companies.. Do you smoke ? Errrr, no... Computer says you bought  3 packs a week for the last 4 years !!!

 

It's kinda of scary the direction we are heading... Hopefully I won't be around to witness the extremes it might go to !!

Failure to do so in a timely manner may result in the election being postponed. 

1 hour ago, webfact said:

will also impact Thailand and Thai businesses with EU customers since the country will be required to enforce applicable laws consistent with the EU law.

so the law isn't in place up to standard, is projected to be, at best ,7 months late and there is expectation of thai law enforcement; not good

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Paiboon said Thais still have a low awareness of data privacy issues, which are becoming crucial in their daily life due to the fast-growing development of online and mobile banking, e-commerce and other digital services.

 

Bhume said the lack of a data privacy law has led to consumer abuse, which will become widespread in the coming years due to the advancement of the digital economy and society.

I think these two short paragraphs sum up the issue nicely.

 

The Junta's vaunted "Thailand 4.0" policy will certainly be an unmitigated disaster if it goes forward without data protection; having a society that is going 'cashless' without any controls on the data generated is like mandating a sexless, virtuous society then banning hot chicks from wearing clothes.

 

BTW, the Junta is doing this simply because the EU will make them pay a price if they don't. Wouldn't it be nice, even once, if the Thai Junta enacted a good law simply because it is a good law and not because of the penalty faced if they didn't? Just once have a large piece of legislation voluntarily enacted that didn't somehow increase the power of the Junta?

 

A man's gotta dream....

 

Anything that stops me being plagued by nuisance phone calls gets my vote ....oh.

2 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

Kind of related but was just having a chat with a buddy on the way to work..

With us going more and more cashless, everyone is going to know everything about you. Even more than they do now !!

For example, your doctor asks how many units of alcohol you drink a week ? We go, errrrrr 5 maybe 6... He looks at his computer and it tells him exactly how much you spent in the pub :)

Same with insurance companies.. Do you smoke ? Errrr, no... Computer says you bought  3 packs a week for the last 4 years !!!

 

It's kinda of scary the direction we are heading... Hopefully I won't be around to witness the extremes it might go to !!

I agree with what you say, but my GP in the UK wouldn't have to look it up:

"How much do you drink per week? You do? Right, now tell me the truth. Keep going...."

Quote

Thai govt in race against time

 

Sounds like this is a job for that fabled superhero - the Watchman™. He's probably changing into his period costume in a phonebooth right now.

10 minutes ago, Darcula said:

 

Sounds like this is a job for that fabled superhero - the Watchman™. He's probably changing into his period costume in a phonebooth right now.

It wont take him much time to get into the costume, but deciding which watch to wear out of 50... well, that could take some time. 

48 minutes ago, stephen tracy said:

59 minutes ago, Darcula said:

 

Sounds like this is a job for that fabled superhero - the Watchman™. He's probably changing into his period costume in a phonebooth right now.

It wont take him much time to get into the costume, but deciding which watch to wear out of 50... well, that could take some time. 

Due to the weight imbalance caused by the over-heavy watch wrist, he'll end up flying in ever-decreasing circles.

Some might say he is already...

 

Who trust Thai government computer law?

It only for hurt enemies.

Thailand 4.0? Ha Ha Ha 

They need to prepare hundred pages of documents, photocopy and signing on them, will take at least few years..

6 hours ago, webfact said:

THAILAND needs to quickly enact data privacy legislation as the country moves ahead with the digital economy and society platforms, according to legal and other experts.

My 90-day slip in my passport has somebody's passport details printed on the back; not for the first time, either!  Those personal details forms that immigration offices were handing-out about 18 months ago were just thrown in a box; a friend of mine found 3 on the floor at Jomtien immigration office, handed them to the guy sitting near the door, who just threw them on the floor behind him.

 

I very much doubt if the majority of Thais know what data protection is, so before they move ahead with the digital economy and social platforms, I suggest they learn how to keep their own house in order.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society is currently revising a 10-year-old draft of the proposed law

So the law, even after 10 years, is still in draft form. And now after all that time they are going to "rush" the legislation through before the end of the year. Really, is there any hope for Thailand in this modern age? 

If this example of inaction by lazy bureaucrats is anything to go by then Thailand 4.0 has absolutely no hope of succeeding. The future of Thailand is built on nothing more than idealistic dreams.

Edited May 7, 20188 yr by Cadbury

There's a lot of mind-boggling Big Brother stuff out there. For UK citizens, this little lot should be enough to keep you awake at nights. . . 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/big-brother-already-here-its-bigger-than-what-you-ever-walter-rocchi

9 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Due to the weight imbalance caused by the over-heavy watch wrist, he'll end up flying in ever-decreasing circles.

 

Sort of like a turd being flushed down the khazi.

59 minutes ago, Darcula said:

Sort of like a turd being flushed down the khazi.

I was thinking more right up the Kyber Pass - like the Khazi of Kalabar in Carry On Up The Kyber.