Thailand issues new e-commerce platform competition guidelines, targeting unfair fees, discrimination and self-preferencing
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand has rolled out its new “e-commerce platform guidelines” from March 25, 2026, setting standards on pricing and non-pricing conduct—covering fees, discrimination, visibility restrictions and self-preferencing—to prevent unfair trade and anti-competitive behaviour.
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand (TCCT) has issued official guidelines to regulate e-commerce platform businesses, establishing a framework for fair commercial conduct and seeking to prevent monopolisation or competition-restricting practices in digital platform markets. The guidelines took effect on March 25, 2026.
Visanu Vongsinsirikul, secretary-general of the TCCT, said the commission has published an announcement outlining how it will assess unfair trade practices and conduct that may constitute monopolisation, reduced competition, or restricted competition in multi-sided platform businesses—specifically digital platforms that facilitate the buying and selling of goods or services. The document is described as the “e-commerce guidelines”.
The guidelines aim to clarify how authorities will interpret conduct that may be considered unfair or anti-competitive under the Trade Competition Act B.E. 2560 (2017). They cover relationships between e-commerce platforms and related businesses, including sellers, logistics providers, digital advertising providers, and payment service providers.
The guidelines focus on two broad categories:
- Pricing conduct
- Non-pricing commercial conduct
Pricing conduct: fees, discrimination and excessive burdens
On pricing, the TCCT sets out examples of conduct that may be prohibited, including:
- Parallel pricing of fees or benefits at the same rate as competitors. Even without clear evidence of collusion, this may be assessed based on facts indicating operators are aware of each other’s pricing and move in the same direction.
- Price discrimination, where platforms charge different fees or set different prices for operators selling the same goods or services without reasonable justification. Authorities may consider business size, sales volume or value as part of the assessment.
- Charging fees or costs that impose an excessive burden on trading partners, or making changes without adequate advance notice.
Non-pricing conduct: visibility, self-preferencing and forced services
The guidelines also cover non-price behaviour, such as:
- Restricting visibility of a seller’s goods or services—for example, using algorithms to suppress how often a product appears.
- Self-preferencing, or giving unjustified advantages to the platform’s own services or to certain sellers—for example, placing products prominently on the homepage without clearly labelling the space as advertising.
- Forcing sellers to use the platform’s delivery services—or only logistics providers designated by the platform—rather than allowing them to choose alternatives.
- Using partner data to gain a competitive advantage, or to favour the platform’s own business over its trading partners.
Case-by-case enforcement
The TCCT said each case will be assessed on its facts and circumstances, including contractual relationships and relevant constraints under other laws. If conduct is found to be unfair or to have a significant impact on market competition, it may constitute an offence under competition law, which can carry criminal penalties and administrative fines.
The commission said it will continue to build understanding of the guidelines among businesses, to support lawful operations and promote fair competition in Thailand’s digital economy.
