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New notice and takedown procedures for the Computer Crimes Act being considered
16/08/2022
The Thai Cabinet has recently acknowledged the new proposed draft Notification from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (“MDES”). This notification is in relation to the Procedures for Giving Notices, Discontinuing the Proliferation of the Computer Data and Removing such Computer Data from a Computer System.
The purpose of this Draft Amendment is to improve efficiency and reduce time for implementing take down procedures of illegal computer data. The MDES also hopes to create and implement channels for the notification, protection and remedial measures for citizens.
Key points
- The new amendment to the Computer Crimes Act has been introduced to improve efficiency and reduce time for implementing take down procedures of illegal computer data.
- The new amendment updates and widens the definition for Social Media.
- New notification and take down procedures are also established.
- The procedure for taking legal actions against entities which do not comply with the take down procedure are also introduced.
What is the Computer Crimes Act?
The Computer Crime Act (CCA 2007) made the following types of conduct illegal:
- the illegal accessing of a computer system that is not intended for use by the person accessing it and for which specific access prevention measures are in place;
- the illegal disclosure of information about computer system prevention measures in a manner that is likely to cause damage to the system owner;
- the illegal interception of information or eavesdropping;
- the illegal damaging, destroying, alteration, changing, or amending of computer data of other people, either in whole or in part;
The Computer Crime Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (CCA as amended in 2017) introduced some additional offences, for example:
- the sending of computer data or electronic mail to another person causing a nuisance to the recipient of such computer data or electronic mail, without a convenient option for the recipient to terminate the reception or to express their intent to refuse the reception or –
- the selling or distribution of a set of instructions specifically designed as a tool for the perpetration of an offence related to damaging, destroying, altering, changing, or amending computer data of other people with harmful effect on other persons or their property.
What does the amendment cover?
The amendment covers the following key areas:
1.The definition for the term “Social Media” has now been updated.
The definition of “Social Media” now includes and describes media or channels for communicating or exchanging user-generated content. This new definition is now in line and reflects the definition of “Social Media” established by the MDES Notification re: Criteria on Storing Computer Traffic Data of Service Providers B.E. 2564 (2021).
2. The amendment also sets out and defines the classifications of service providers or social media that would be able to enjoy safe harbour, should they be eligible.
3. The amendment will also update the provisions relating to the notice and takedown procedures, such as:
(a) The service provider or social media platform must create and put in place a notice and takedown policy or a takedown notice. This notice must be in writing.
(b) Once users or any persons have found the illegal content, these users or persons can request the service provider or social media platform to takedown the illegal content by the following methods:
(i) filing a police daily report,
(ii) lodging a complaint with the police or
(iii) notifying the service provider or social media platform using the provided complaint form.
(c) Once the documents (police reports or complaint forms) set out in section (b) have been received, the service provider or social media platform must take down the illegal content. Furthermore, they must also send the relevant information and proof of the takedown of the illegal content to the user who reported it.
4. In addition, the Draft Amendment also sets out the takedown measures available to officials, as well as the process for taking legal action against the service provider or social media platform should they fail to comply with the takedown order/request.
When will this draft amendment become effective?
At the time of writing, the Draft Amendment has only been acknowledged by the Cabinet. The Cabinet will now review the draft amendment and if satisfied it will be submitted for the next stage of the legislative process.
There is currently no timeline in place for the approval and implementation of the draft amendment.
How can Belaws help?
If you are interested in learning more about how your business could be affected by this new regulation, please feel free to book a consultation with our experts.
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