Gov’t warns Thai businesses of impact of EU’s GDPR

0
2786

Bangkok – The government is raising awareness among businesses of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to be enforced next week by the European Union.

According to Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, Pichet Durongkaveroj, GDPR is a data protection law that gives consumers much more control over how their personal details are used. It seeks to expand and update data rules that have been in place in Europe since 1995, which is long before hacks, security breaches and data leaks became a common occurrence.

When the new regulation comes into force on May 25, businesses and organizations that hold or use data on people inside the European Union are subject to the new rules, regardless of where they are based.

The impact will be felt by businesses around the world including Thailand, especially companies that sell goods and services to people in Europe as well as organizations that monitor people’s online behavior, for example by tracking browsing histories.

Under the new law, companies will have to obtain an individual’s consent in order to store and process personal data. Requests must be clear and written in plain language.