The Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in Thailand presents a number of challenges for international schools. The PDPA has already undergone significant changes in its first eight months.
- Ensuring compliance with the PDPA: International schools in Thailand must ensure that they are complying with the PDPA and taking appropriate measures to protect personal data. This includes implementing policies and procedures to protect personal data, obtaining consent for data processing, and ensuring that personal data is stored securely.
- Managing international student data: International schools may have students from different countries, each with their own data protection regulations. This can make it difficult to ensure compliance with the PDPA, as well as with other applicable data protection laws.
- Data transfer limitations: The PDPA imposes restrictions on the transfer of personal data outside of Thailand, which can make it challenging for international schools to transfer personal data to other countries for processing or storage.
- Balancing data privacy with educational needs: International schools need to balance the need for data privacy with the need to provide a quality education to their students. For example, they may need to collect certain personal data to provide educational services, but they must also ensure that this data is protected and used only for legitimate purposes.
- Staff training: International schools must ensure that their staff members are aware of the PDPA and are trained on how to handle personal data appropriately. This can be challenging, especially for schools with a large number of staff members or a high turnover rate.
- latest update to the PDPA came on 15th december 2023 on the criteria and procedures for handling Personal Data Breaches. This includes actions that need to be taken when suspecting that a breach has occured.
Overall, the PDPA presents several challenges for international schools in Thailand, but with careful planning and implementation, these challenges can be overcome. It is important for schools to prioritize data protection and ensure that they are complying with all applicable laws and regulations.
Formiti Data International provide expert consultation services at prices to suit the International School Budget.