Section 18 of the Computer-Related Crime Act allows the government to access user-related or traffic data without a court order and compel ISPs to decode programmed data.

The National Intelligence Act 2019 gives the power to the National Intelligence Agency to perform duties related to activities on intelligence operations, civil security safeguards, and monitoring situations that affect national security (Section 4). Section 6 of the Act provides the National Intelligence Agency with the power to order public agencies or any person to submit the information or document that impacts national security within the specified period. If it is necessary to acquire the information, the agency is allowed to take action by adopting electronic, scientific, telecommunication devices, or other technology tools to obtain such information. Certain activities can be done without filing a motion to the court and are deemed in good faith for the public or national security.

The Copyright Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. Although Thailand has not signed the WIPO Copyright Treaty, in 2015, two copyright amendment laws were approved: the Copyright Act (No. 2) and Copyright Act (No. 3). These two laws implemented many of the key provisions of the WIPO Copyright Treaty. Copyright “safe harbour” protection for intermediaries such as cloud service providers is contained in the 2015 amendments to copyright laws. The provisions exempt Internet intermediaries from liability in broad circumstances provided that they did not control, initiate, or order the infringement. The intermediary is shielded from liability for content until they receive a court order ordering them to remove it.

The Computer-Related Crime Act and the Notification of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) establish a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringement. According to Section 15 of the Computer-Related Crime Act, service providers are not liable of for for the content published if they remove computer data once it has received a notification from the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) to discontinue the dissemination of these. In addition, the Notification includes the 'Notice and Take Down' procedure to remove the offence's content and the intermediary's liability. This notification allows an individual to submit their notices of online offence to the police or competent officers. After the service provider receives the notification from the Ministry, the competent officer, or court order, they must remove or stop the dissemination of certain content immediately within the given period.

According to Art. 26 of the Commission of Computer-Related Offences Act (commonly known as the Computer Crimes Act or CCA), all service providers are required to record users' computer traffic data and store it for 90 days, with the possibility of extending the retention period up to a year if ordered by authorities. In 2019, it was reported that the Thai government requested all coffee shops, including small operators, to retain traffic data of customers using their Wifi for 90 days and to provide that information upon request. This request includes keeping a 'log file' of customers' computer traffic data, including their IP address, full name, ID card number, or passport details. As defined in Art. 3 of the CCA, "Computer Traffic Data", encompasses information related to the communication of a computer system, such as the origin, source, terminal, route, time, date, size, duration, type of service, and other relevant communication details.

According to the National Council of Peace and Order (NCPO) Notification No. 18/2557 (2014), all types of media services, including both public and private providers in satellite, cable TV, digital TV, and community radio, service providers, newspapers, must monitor their content to prohibit broadcasting or disseminating the following information:
- A criticism of the performance of the NCPO and related persons;
- A confidential information of the state agency;
- An information that creates misunderstanding and inciting conflicts in the Kingdom;
- Threatening to harm any person that could create fear among the public.

In October 2020, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) issued an order requiring internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile service providers to block four internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with Telegram, a messaging app widely used by protesters. Although the government has not publicly disclosed the total number of URLs blocked through court orders, the MDES reported that during the first nine months of 2022, it obtained court orders to block approximately 4,735 URLs, including 1,816 URLs containing allegedly offensive content about the monarchy.
Websites have also been blocked on grounds of national security, for gambling content, for alleged violations of intellectual property rights, and for hosting unauthorised virtual private network (VPN) services. In addition to blocking and filtering, content removal reportedly continues under tight government control.

Under Section 28 of the Personal Data Protection Act, personal data may only be transferred to a third country if the receiving country upholds adequate personal data protection standards, or if one of the following conditions is satisfied: (i) the transfer is necessary to comply with legal obligations; (ii) the individual has given informed consent for the transfer, despite being made aware of the inadequacy of the receiving country’s data protection laws; (iii) the transfer is required for the performance of a contract to which the individual is a party or will become a party; (iv) the transfer is necessary for the fulfilment of the controller’s obligations under a contract with a third party for the benefit of the individual; (v) the transfer is essential to prevent or address a danger to the life, body, or health of the individual or others, in situations where the individual cannot provide consent; or (vi) the transfer is necessary for the performance of a public task.
Section 29 of the Act further permits the international transfer of personal data under the following circumstances: (i) where the transfer is made to a controller or processor within a group company that has established binding corporate rules approved by the Committee; and (ii) where approval for the binding corporate rules from the Committee is pending, provided the controller or processor has implemented appropriate safeguards and effective legal remedies in accordance with the Committee’s guidelines.
Section 5 of the "Notification of the Personal Data Protection Committee on Criteria for the Protection of Personal Data Sent or Transferred to a Foreign Country Pursuant to Section 28 of the Personal Data Protection Act" sets forth criteria for determining the adequacy of personal data protection standards in recipient countries.
Additionally, Clauses 7 and 8 of the "Notification of the Personal Data Protection Committee on Criteria for the Protection of Personal Data Sent or Transferred to a Foreign Country Pursuant to Section 29 of the Personal Data Protection Act" outline additional requirements related to binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, and certifications, among others.

Thailand has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The Personal Data Protection Act provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Thailand, and it is the first consolidated legislation to offer general data protection within Thailand. The Act is based on the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (GDPR) and contains many similar provisions, although they differ in areas such as anonymisation. More specifically, the Act introduces obligations for data controllers and data processors, including lawful grounds for data collection, use, and disclosure, restrictions on data transfers to foreign countries, requirements for breach notification, and rights for data subjects. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and Personal Data Protection Committee have released draft secondary laws and guidelines to clarify the provision of the Act in areas such as data security, data transfers to foreign countries, as well as requirements for data protection officer appointment and the conducting of Data Protection Impact Assessments.

The Notification on Telecommunications Service Users' Rights 2006, issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), states that licensed telecommunications service providers must retain their users' data for the last three months after the service is terminated (Clause 8). The personal data of telecommunication users includes factual information that can identify the individual user, usage details, subscriber number and behavioural activity in the use of telecommunication services. In case of necessity, the service provider may be required to extend the period of data retention but will not exceed two years.

Section 26 of the Commission of Computer-Related Offences Act 2007 (so-called Computer Crimes Act 2007) (amended 2017) defines 'computer traffic data' as data in relation to the communication of computer system or the origin, time, duration, type of service, or else related to the computer system. The Act requires a service provider to retain computer traffic data for not less than 90 days from the date when the data was entered into the computer system. If necessary, the competent official may order any service provider to retain computer traffic data for a period exceeding 90 days but not exceeding 2 years as a matter of an individually exceptional case and on an ad hoc basis. Also, the service provider shall maintain client data, which is necessary for identifying the client since their first use of service and shall keep such data for not less than 90 days from the ending date of service. Those who fail to comply with this measure shall be liable to a fine not exceeding 500,000 Thai Baht (approx. USD 14,000).
The Notification on Computer Traffic Data Retention Criteria for Service Providers in 2007 provides detailed information regarding this matter. For example, the computer traffic data must be maintained under secured measures using a centralised log server, data archiving, or data hashing (Clause 8). Moreover, the service providers - telecommunication and broadcast carriers, access service providers, host service providers, and content service providers - need to retain the information as the law requires (Clause 5).

It is reported that passive infrastructure sharing in Thailand to deliver telecom services to end users is mandated, and it is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

The Foreign Business Act (FBA) 1999 governs foreign investment in Thailand. Section 4 of the Act defines a "foreigner" as a company in which at least half of the capital or shares are held by foreigners, or a limited partnership or registered ordinary partnership with foreigners as the managing partner or manager.
According to Section 8 of the Telecommunications Business Act 2001, Type 2 licenses (telecommunications operators providing services to a specific group of customers, with or without operating their own telecommunications network) and Type 3 licenses (telecommunications operators providing their own telecommunications network for public use) cannot be granted to foreign applicants. As a result, foreign ownership in these sectors is capped at 49%.

The majority of the telecommunications infrastructure, such as the national broadband network and most submarine cable landing stations, is owned by the Government through state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The main SOEs in the telecommunications sector are TOT Public Company Limited and CAT Telecom Public Company Limited.