UPDATE: Phuket PDPA centre adds in-person rights and complaint support

Phuket Governor Chotinrin Kerdsum opened an expanded Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) Centre at the Novotel Phuket City Phokeethra Hotel on 31 August 2026. The centre is intended to give residents and organisations in Phuket, as well as people in other southern areas, easier access to advice, rights assistance and complaint services.

Representatives from the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC), Phuket Provincial Police, government agencies, local administrations, educational institutions and the private sector attended the opening.

The PDPC’s Phuket PDPA Centre provides information and consultation on personal-data protection, receives complaints and aims to improve understanding of rights and responsibilities under the law. It also offers in-person guidance on exercising data-protection rights and preparing the documents and evidence needed for a complaint, including for people who are not comfortable using online filing systems.

PDPC Secretary-General Pol Col Surapong Plengkhum said the expansion was intended to make personal-data protection assistance more accessible. Visitors can ask about the law, seek advice before exercising their rights, submit complaints and explain relevant details directly to officials.

Reported consultation topics include unwanted calls, messages or advertising; the collection, use or disclosure of personal data beyond what is necessary or outside the stated purpose; the unauthorised publication of images or personal data on social media; and concerns about security measures for customer, service-user and public data.

The PDPC said Phuket and the wider southern region have a large tourism and services sector, including hotels and other accommodation, shops, health-service businesses, real-estate companies, tourism operators and digital services. These businesses collect and use data belonging to guests, tourists, customers, service users and employees. Improving understanding of the law is intended to reduce the risk of rights violations and help build confidence among Thai and foreign users.

Kerdsum said Thailand had fully entered the digital society, with personal information routinely collected, used and disclosed in everyday life, government services and business operations. He said personal-data protection was not simply a legal issue, but also involved protecting people’s rights and freedoms and building public confidence in technology and digital services.

The PDPC said expanding its centres into the regions is part of an effort to improve public services, so people do not need to travel to central offices when they need advice or assistance. The centres are intended to receive complaints, provide guidance and connect the PDPC with provincial agency networks, allowing responses to reflect local circumstances more closely.

The opening programme included a briefing on the PDPA and personal-data rights, case studies and guidance on preventing conduct that could breach the law. A workshop gave participants the opportunity to examine real-life situations and learn about correct data-protection practices, with the activities also linked to human-rights protection and the development of cooperation between public agencies, private organisations and local communities.

Thailand’s Personal Data Protection Act, enacted in 2019, establishes national standards for personal-data protection and is intended to promote transparency, good governance and respect for citizens’ rights.