Thailand's Draft Consumer Protection Law Would Make Influencer Disclosure a Legal Duty

Thailand's Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) has released a draft amendment to the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979) that would bring influencer marketing expressly within the statute. The draft is open for public comment until 10 October 2026 and is not yet law. Two legal summaries published in September, one by Silk Legal and one carried by Lexology, set out what it would change.

What the draft changes

The 1979 Act was written before e-commerce, live streaming and affiliate marketing, and the draft updates its vocabulary to match. According to the summaries, “advertising media” would extend to digital platforms, social media services and individual social media accounts used for advertising, and “business operator” would expressly cover advertising business operators and “hired advertising persons”. A new category, the hired advertising person for selling goods or services, would cover influencers, content creators, live streamers, affiliate marketers and virtual media operators who receive payment or other benefits for promoting goods or services.

What creators would have to disclose

Under the draft, a hired advertising person must clearly say that content is advertising and reveal the relationship with the business behind it. Silk Legal lists the situations that trigger disclosure: the business has engaged the person to promote its goods or services; payment or other benefits have been provided; free or discounted products or services have been supplied; and consumers would not otherwise recognise the commercial connection. Silk Legal adds that the duty is designed to apply broadly, covering reviews, live-stream sales and affiliate links, not only conventional sponsored posts.

Penalties and who is liable

The draft doubles penalties for most violations, according to Silk Legal. False advertising or labelling breaches would carry imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up to THB 200,000, rising to up to two years and THB 400,000 for repeat offenders. Breaches of advertising rules would carry up to six months and THB 100,000. Both summaries stress that criminal liability would extend explicitly to advertising media owners, including digital platforms, and to advertising operators, at the same level as the underlying offender.

The OCPB would also gain the power to order businesses to surrender computer data and electronic records where a violation is reasonably suspected, and to cooperate with foreign regulators. Lexology reports that advertising and labelling rules would be issued as committee notifications rather than ministerial regulations, so that they can be updated faster.

What it could mean for MCNs and agencies

This section is MCN Thailand's reading, not a statement from the OCPB. Because the draft places the hired advertiser and the media owner in the same liability chain, agencies and MCNs that brief creators are likely to be drawn into compliance in practice, even where the text puts the duty on the creator. Lexology's advice to brands is to review influencer agreements and guidelines now and add mandatory disclosure language. For creators the practical step is the same: treat every paid, gifted or discounted arrangement as one that needs a visible label, and keep a record of the brief and the terms.

What to watch

The draft can still change. Consultation runs to 10 October 2026, and nothing in the text is binding until it is adopted.