Thailand’s trade regulator has rolled out new guidelines for e-commerce platforms, sharpening scrutiny of pricing and business conduct as Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy tries to keep its fast-growing digital marketplace competitive.
The Trade Competition Commission of Thailand, or TCCT, said the new framework took effect on March 25 after publication in the Government Gazette, and applies to multi-sided platform businesses linking operators with sellers, logistics providers, advertisers and payment services.
The rules are meant to clarify how authorities will interpret the Trade Competition Act in assessing conduct that may restrict or distort competition.
Under the guidelines, the regulator will examine both pricing and non-pricing behaviour.
On pricing, the commission flagged practices such as parallel pricing, unjustified price differences and excessive charges imposed on business partners, while also warning against sudden fee changes that could unfairly shift costs onto sellers and other counterparties.
The TCCT said such cases would be assessed based on commercial rationale and other business factors.
On non-pricing conduct, the guidelines target practices increasingly debated across global digital markets, including the use of algorithms to limit the visibility of certain sellers, preferential treatment for a platform’s own products or affiliated merchants, forced use of designated service providers, and misuse of partner data to benefit a platform’s competing business.
The regulator said enforcement would be handled case by case, taking into account contractual arrangements, market conditions and the broader legal context. Violations could lead to administrative fines or criminal penalties under Thai competition law.
TCCT Secretary-General Visanu Vongsinsirikul said the guidelines were designed to give businesses clearer rules on how the regulator will view conduct on digital platforms, according to local media.
The commission added that it would continue engaging with industry participants to improve understanding and support compliance.
The move comes as Thailand pushes to expand its digital economy and attract more technology investment.
In March 2025, Thailand approved 90.9 billion baht ($2.7 billion) of investments in data centres and cloud services, while global technology firms including TikTok, Google, Amazon Web Services, and Microsoft have announced major digital infrastructure plans in the country.
The guidelines suggest Thailand is moving from a growth-first approach to a more rules-based model for digital commerce. For large platforms, the biggest risk may not be an outright ban on specific practices but greater exposure to complaints over fees, self-preferencing and data use.
