A Thai member of Parliament has recently introduced a draft bill proposing sweeping changes to its data center rules, including requiring licensing, and environmental and community health impact assessments on all data center projects, according to local reports. If passed, operators would need to obtain a licence from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, locate their facilities in areas zoned for factories, must be a Thai-registered company, and provide a guarantee when applying for a licence.
The proposals, which were introduced by MP Supachai Jaisamut, seek to regulate digital infrastructure pertaining to project locations, environmental and health impact assessments, electricity and water supplies, and data sovereignty, with key numerical thresholds to be specified later in secondary legislation.
The public including operators, users of services and affected communities are invited to contribute their views thru to 15 October.
With the aim of protecting Thai resources, the draft bill requires high usage data centers to either generate their own electricity, buy directly from licensed private power producers, or a combination of both.
Similarly, data centers with high water consumption must have sufficient water from their own sources, without using public sources. They must also keep heat released and noise pollution within limits to be prescribed by the minister.
The draft requires operators that collect, store, process or hold in custody Thai nationals’ personal data, data of Thai-registered entities, or information of government departments, public organisations and other state agencies, to store those data in Thailand, with strict conditions for any transfers outside of the country.
Operators must also ensure Thai nationals make up at least half of all personnel performing system supervision duties, as well as use minimum prescribed local content for their materials and equipment.
The penalty for operating without a licence is imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of at least THB10 million, or both, as well as an additional fine of up to THB1 million a day as long as a licence is not obtained. An operator which fails to store Thai nationals’ personal data in Thailand could face up to three years’ imprisonment, a fine of at least THB6 million, or both.
Existing operators have up to 180 days from the date the law comes into force (ministerial licensing regulations) to apply for a licence.