Press exempt from personal data protection law: DES minister
The 2019 Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), which has been in force since June 1, will not apply to members of the media, the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry said.
In a press release on Tuesday, DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn said PDPA, which aims to prevent people’s personal data from being published without permission, will not apply to media outlets.
“Section 4 (3) of the PDPA stipulates that this Act shall not apply to a person or a juristic person who uses or discloses personal data that is collected only for the activities of mass media, fine arts, or literature, which are only in accordance with professional ethics or for public interest,” the press release read. “This means the media can take photographs or record video clips and then publish them without blurring the image or seeking consent from the person.
“However, in some cases disclosing data for public interest may violate certain rights of an individual. Mass media professional associations must therefore use their discretion to determine that such disclosure should be allowed or not, based on professional ethics,” he added.
Chaiwut warned that though the press is exempt from PDPA, journalists should always adhere to professional ethics and take care not to violate other laws.
Call the 1111 hotline or visit facebook.com/pdpc.th for more information.