Key Takeaways
- Five Thai regulators (CIB, OIC, SEC, FDA, and Excise Department) are now actively enforcing existing statutes against influencers personally, not only against brands.
- Eight product and service categories trigger criminal liability for unlawful promotion in Thailand: foreign insurance, foreign securities, digital assets on unlicensed exchanges, drugs and health claims without FDA approval, alcohol, tobacco and e-cigarettes, cannabis outside the medical channel, and gambling.
- Penalties combine imprisonment, fines that can exceed THB 500,000 per offence, and platform consequences.
- The statutes are decades old. What has changed is active enforcement against social media creators.
- Brands and agencies should update influencer agreements to allocate regulatory risk and require documentation of approvals.
A Regulatory Threshold Has Been Crossed
Influencer marketing in Thailand has moved out of the regulatory grey zone. Five regulators (the Central Investigation Bureau, the Office of Insurance Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Excise Department) have each issued public guidance or pursued individual influencer cases in the past eighteen months. The enforcement pattern is consistent across agencies: regulators target the influencer personally, use internal social media monitoring tools, and coordinate across agencies when a single piece of content engages multiple statutes.
Eight Categories of Restricted Promotion
Thai law does not regulate influencer marketing through a single statute. Restrictions sit inside sector-specific laws, most of them drafted before social media existed but written in technology-neutral terms that capture Instagram Reels, TikTok, and YouTube content with no difficulty.
- Foreign insurance products. Section 83 of the Life Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992) prohibits any person from inducing the purchase of insurance from a foreign insurer not licensed in Thailand. Penalty under Section 113: imprisonment up to 6 months, a fine up to THB 50,000, or both. The Non-Life Insurance Act B.E. 2535 (1992) contains a parallel prohibition.
- Foreign securities and investment products. Section 33 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992) prohibits offering securities to the Thai public without SEC approval. Penalty under Section 268: imprisonment up to 2 years and fines up to twice the value of the securities offered.
- Digital assets on unlicensed exchanges. The Emergency Decree on Digital Asset Businesses B.E. 2561 (2018) requires SEC licensing for any digital asset business serving Thai users. SEC notifications target social media promotion specifically, with paid-promoter disclosure rules and an outright ban on guaranteed-return language.
- Pharmaceuticals, supplements, and health claims. The Drug Act B.E. 2510 (1967) and the Food Act B.E. 2522 (1979) require FDA pre-approval for any drug advertisement or commercial health claim about a food or supplement. The FDA actively monitors influencer content.
- Alcohol. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act B.E. 2551 (2008) at Section 32 restricts content that directly or indirectly induces alcohol consumption. November 2025 amendments extended administrative penalties to individual consumers.
- Tobacco, vapes, and e-cigarettes. The Tobacco Products Control Act B.E. 2560 (2017) is among the strictest in Asia. Separately, the import, sale, possession, and promotion of e-cigarettes and vape products is prohibited under a Customs Tariff Decree and the Consumer Protection Act.
- Cannabis. Following 2024-2025 reclassification, recreational cannabis promotion is not permitted. Medical cannabis products require FDA conditions and licensed-practitioner channels.
- Gambling. The Gambling Act B.E. 2478 (1935) prohibits the promotion of gambling outside state-licensed activities. Thai courts have shown a marked willingness to impose custodial sentences in this category.
Disclosure Rules for Permitted Promotion
Where promotion is lawful, three sources of disclosure obligation apply. The Office of the Consumer Protection Board requires that paid promotional content be clearly identified using tags such as #ad or #paidpartnership. SEC notifications on digital asset promotion add specific disclosure and disclaimer requirements. The FDA requires that any health, beauty, or treatment claim carries the FDA pre-approval reference number, displayed in the content itself.
Practical Recommendations
For content creators, three steps form the compliance baseline. First, before accepting any sponsorship, verify that the product or service is legal to promote in Thailand. For foreign products in regulated categories, the question is whether the brand holds the relevant Thai license. Second, request the regulatory documentation in writing and display the reference numbers in the content. Third, document the diligence trail by saving the brand's representations, the FDA or SEC reference numbers, and the dates of verification.
For brands and agencies, influencer agreements should be updated to include three contractual protections: a brand representation that the product is lawful to promote in Thailand, an obligation to provide registration numbers and approved claim language, and a brand indemnity covering regulatory exposure from missing or invalid approvals.
How We Can Help
Dej-Udom & Associates advises content creators, brands, and agencies on the regulatory framework governing influencer marketing in Thailand, including pre-engagement legality assessments, paid-promoter disclosure compliance, influencer agreement drafting and review, and defence in OIC, SEC, FDA, and CIB enforcement matters. For a specific campaign or a pending regulatory inquiry, please contact us at [email protected].
Disclaimer: This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The information contained herein should not be relied upon as a substitute for specific legal counsel. For advice tailored to your circumstances, please contact Dej-Udom & Associates directly.