From November 1, 2026, anyone paying for an online advertisement aimed at people in Thailand will have to prove who they are first. Under Thailand's new “No ID, No Ads” rule, social media platforms must verify advertisers before their paid ads can appear, in a crackdown on the scam ads that have flooded feeds. Here is what changes, who it affects, and what to do before the deadline.
What exactly changed
Old rule: platforms could run a paid ad without first establishing the verified identity of the person or business behind it, leaving scam advertisers free to hide behind anonymous accounts. New rule: platforms covered by the regulations must verify the advertiser's identity before publishing any paid advertisement shown to users in Thailand, and must keep the verification records for at least 90 days after the advertising service ends.
The rules come from a notification by Thailand's Electronic Transactions Commission on measures to prevent technology crime for social media providers, signed by commission chair Vilawan Mangklatanakul on April 23, 2026, published in the Royal Gazette on May 5, and taking effect after a 180-day period, on November 1. The government says verification is not an endorsement of the product being advertised, and has urged consumers to stay cautious of ads promising high returns or demanding urgent bank transfers.
Who is affected
The rule covers Thai and foreign advertisers targeting people in Thailand, including businesses based overseas, which do not need to travel to Thailand to verify. It also covers the other side of the transaction: where someone other than the advertiser pays for the ad, the payer's details must be retained too. Advertising agencies and people hired to promote or boost another person's posts may also fall under the requirements, depending on their role. Ordinary, unpaid social media posts are not covered.
Platform readiness is uneven. Meta has confirmed it is ready to comply from November 1 and is working with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society and the Electronic Transactions Development Agency to help advertisers, particularly small businesses, complete verification. LINE has also indicated it will meet the deadline. TikTok and Google had not confirmed their readiness, according to ministry statements, and parliamentary committees have pressed law enforcement to pursue sanctions against platforms that fail to confirm deployment.
What you need to do
If you advertise to audiences in Thailand, check your advertising account on each platform before November 1 and complete any identity check the platform requests. Individuals are generally verified by a face scan matched to a national ID card or through an approved digital ID system; companies may need to provide registration documents and verify a representative authorized to act for the business. Foreign advertisers can use qualifying documents issued overseas. If you completed a qualifying check within the past year, you may not need to repeat it for every campaign, depending on the platform's records.
Advertisers should also note the liability warning: officials say platforms that fail to fulfil their legal duties could share liability for financial losses from technology-related crime, though that responsibility would not be automatic and would depend on the applicable laws and the circumstances. Officials say they will track verification rates, scam-ad reports and platforms' response times to complaints after implementation.
Why it matters
Supporters say the rule makes scam advertising traceable: when a fraudulent ad causes losses, investigators will be able to follow the money and the identity behind it, instead of hitting a dead end. Critics and platforms facing the deadline will point to the compliance burden, especially for small businesses and foreign advertisers navigating different platforms' checks. Either way, the key date is November 1: after that, in Thailand, no verified identity means no ad.
Sources: TPN National, The Thaiger, ID Tech Wire