If you pay to boost a Facebook post for your café, run Instagram adverts for a villa rental or hire an agency to promote your business in Thailand, expect the platform to ask who you are. From Sunday 1 November 2026, Thailand's "No ID, No Ads" rule requires covered social media platforms to verify the identity of advertisers before paid adverts are shown to users in the country.
The requirement comes from a notification by Thailand's Electronic Transactions Commission on measures to prevent technology crime for social media service providers (No. 2). Khaosod English reports it was published in the Royal Gazette in May, and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), the regulator that supports the commission, confirms in its published questions and answers that it takes effect on 1 November 2026.
Who has to verify
The duty sits with the platforms. ETDA says the notification applies to social media providers that show adverts in Thailand and are paid for them, whether the payment comes from the advertiser or someone else. In practice, the person or company placing the advert is the one asked for proof of identity.
On 26 October, deputy government spokeswoman Lalida Periswiwatana said the measure is not limited to advertisers in Thailand. It also covers overseas advertisers whose adverts reach people in the country, and it is not limited to Meta: TikTok and any other platform that meets the criteria must comply. Foreign advertisers will not need to travel to Thailand, because platforms may check identity documents issued by foreign governments under the set rules.
ETDA's examples show that more than one party can count as an advertiser. If you pay an agency to run your adverts, the agency is treated as the advertiser and payer. If you post about your own product and hire someone else to boost that post, both you and the person paying for the boost are treated as advertisers. For a company, the platform checks the identity and authority of the person acting for it, such as through a letter of authorisation, along with evidence that the company exists.
How verification works
ETDA describes two routes. A platform can check a government-issued document, such as a Thai ID card or a passport, and confirm it belongs to the person, for example by comparing a selfie with the photo on the document. Or it can rely on an approved digital identity provider at assurance level IAL2 or above, such as the Thai government's ThaID app. The government says each platform may choose its own method as long as it meets the legal standard.
According to Khaosod English and Thaiger, an advertiser already verified under the rules within the past year may not need to repeat the process for each campaign. Platforms must keep the information that identifies advertisers for at least 90 days after an advertising service ends, which ETDA says is counted from the day after the advert was last shown. Where a different person or company pays for an advert, the payer's details must be kept too.
What this means for you
Ordinary posts and pages are not affected; the rule covers paid adverts. If you advertise or boost posts, the government has urged online shops, businesses and agencies to check the status of their advertising accounts and have identification, company registration documents and any letters of authorisation ready. Your platform's own advertiser settings will show what it asks for. If an agency or freelancer runs your adverts, it is worth confirming which of you the platform will verify.
The government says the aim is to make scam adverts traceable, not to burden legitimate businesses. A platform that fails to meet its legal duties could share liability for losses from technology crime, depending on the facts, but not automatically in every case. Officials also stress that passing verification does not mean the state endorses an advert, product or seller.
If you come across a suspected scam advert, the government advises saving screenshots, the advert link, the advertiser's account name, chat messages and payment records, contacting your bank quickly and reporting it to the anti-online scam hotline 1441 or through the online police reporting system, as well as to the platform.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Check your platform's advertiser help pages for the exact documents it requires.