Thailand Releases New Draft Artificial Intelligence Act

Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) released a new version of the draft Act on Artificial Intelligence on July 2, 2026, for a public hearing period expected to be approximately 30 days. The draft act adopts a risk-based regulatory approach modeled in part on international frameworks—particularly the EU’s AI Act—while incorporating provisions tailored to Thailand’s regulatory landscape and digital economy objectives. If enacted in its current form, the law would introduce extraterritorial obligations, a tiered risk classification system, strict liability for AI-related damages, and new transparency requirements for AI-generated content.

Scope and Extraterritorial Application

The draft act applies to AI development, deployment, or any other action affecting people in Thailand, even if the action occurs outside the country. Of note:

• This extraterritorial reach creates compliance obligations for global AI companies whose systems impact Thai residents or consumers, even if the provider has no physical presence in Thailand.
• Foreign AI providers serving Thai deployers or users must appoint a local coordinator or authorized representative. Depending on the type of AI system, the representative may need full authority to act on behalf of the provider without any limitation of liability.
• Certain activities are exempt from the draft act’s oversight, including AI used by natural persons solely for personal or household activities, AI for educational research conducted by higher education institutions with ethics committee approval, research and development activities conducted prior to distribution or service provision, and other AI systems prescribed by royal decree.

Risk-Based Classification Framework

The draft act establishes a tiered risk classification system with three main categories:

• Prohibited AI. The act outright prohibits AI systems employing cognitive-behavioral manipulation using subliminal techniques, AI systems causing unfair broad-scale discrimination from processing irrelevant data, and other categories of serious risk as determined by announcement of a forthcoming committee that will be responsible for national AI planning.
• High-risk AI. High-risk AI systems are those designated by royal decree as affecting national security, health, environment, energy, telecommunications, transport, or public utilities.
• Designated AI systems. A subsequent royal decree may additionally require regulator notification, registration, or licensing of certain AI systems before deployment.

Obligations for High-Risk AI System Providers and Deployers

Providers of high-risk AI must develop systems that are efficient and fit for purpose, transparent in operation, subject to meaningful human control, fair and nondiscriminatory, and aligned with foreseeable risks. The regulator may announce risk oversight guidelines covering 13 areas, including risk management, bias prevention, cybersecurity, human oversight, transparency, and complaint handling.

Deployers must implement risk management systems, follow provider instructions, assign capable oversight personnel, mitigate damage from AI-related incidents, retain operational logs for a minimum period (six months under the Thai text), and notify authorities of unforeseen risks.

Transparency Obligations for AI-Generated Content

The draft act introduces transparency requirements for content generation by AI systems:

• Developers of AI systems capable of generating or modifying images, audio, or video must assess risks, implement mitigation measures, and embed machine-readable marks to identify AI-generated content.
• Persons who introduce AI-generated content relating to national security, election-related content, investment credibility, food or drug properties, impersonation, or illegal acts into public systems must disclose that it is AI-generated or AI-modified content.
• Platform providers face specific obligations, including risk assessment, providing reporting channels, verifying AI content, displaying labels, and preparing annual operational summaries.

Data Localization and Contract-Controlled AI Businesses

The draft act grants the forthcoming national AI planning committee authority over data and contracting requirements in sensitive sectors:

• The committee may designate “contract-controlled AI businesses” applicable to services provided to government or critical infrastructure agencies, and may prescribe mandatory contract terms addressing data processing, risk management, security, modification and termination procedures, and post-termination obligations.
• The committee may also require data processing within Thailand for AI services of national importance. This introduces uncertainty for cloud-based AI services and may require infrastructure investment in Thailand.

Strict Liability Regime

The draft act imposes joint liability for damages regardless of willful act or negligence—a strict liability standard. Defenses are limited to force majeure, the victim’s own act or omission, or compliance with an official order.

Enforcement and Penalties

The draft act establishes an enforcement framework, with escalating consequences for noncompliance:

• The regulator may order providers and deployers to rectify insufficient measures.
• With ministerial approval, the regulator may petition the court to order temporary service suspension, product recall, or deployment suspension.
• If providers fail to comply, the regulator may petition the court to order ISPs to block AI system dissemination in Thailand.

Administrative fines range from THB 1 million to THB 5 million, depending on the nature of the violation.

AI Product Launches, Regulatory Sandbox, and Self-Regulation

The draft act also establishes a regulatory sandbox framework for testing AI systems in regulated sectors, data-sharing infrastructure through Thailand’s Big Data Institute (a national public organization), and frameworks for self-regulation and best practices. Compliance with self-regulatory best practices may also serve as selection criteria for government investment promotion programs.

Implementation Approach and Next Steps

There will be a phased implementation of the draft act’s measures. Core measures related to the launching of AI products take effect immediately upon publication. Risk control, supervision, and serious incident provisions take effect 180 days after publication, providing a compliance preparation window for affected businesses.

Organizations that develop, deploy, or rely on AI systems affecting persons in Thailand should begin assessing their compliance. They are also encouraged to submit comments on the draft act to the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society during the public hearing period.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.