Personal Data Protection for Platform Workers: Limitations of Current Laws

Abstract

In an era where digital technology plays an important role in daily life, digital platforms have become an increasingly important part of business operations, including employment and labor, especially platform workers who work through online platforms, such as food delivery, transportation, or providing various services via applications or websites. These platforms often collect and use a large amount of personal data, such as work history, work behavior, working hours, GPS coordinates, driving distance, customer ratings, and user comments, all of which are personally identifiable information (PII) and behavioral data. Therefore, this group is at risk of personal data violations. The relevant laws for protecting personal data, such as the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562, have been used to protect the personal data of citizens, including platform workers. However, the enforcement of these laws in the context of working on digital platforms still has many problems and obstacles, including law enforcement, requesting consent for data collection, and protecting workers' rights to request deletion of personal data, etc.

            This article aims to study the practical limitations of the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) in protecting platform workers, compare the effectiveness of the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) with the international standard, the General Data Protection Regulation, and propose solutions to strengthen the protection of platform workers’ personal data. The recommendations include amending the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) to protect platform workers, enacting secondary legislation, and establishing enforcement mechanisms and cross-border cooperation. The goal is to make it easier for workers to access their rights and for platforms to comply with data protection standards.