Southeast Asia’s digital transformation is accelerating, yet a critical gap remains between technological capability and policy implementation. This panel brought together government officials, regulatory bodies, and platform industry representatives to explore how digital platforms can bridge this divide, reaching previously invisible populations, delivering services at unprecedented speed and scale, and building the trust infrastructure necessary for sustainable public-private partnerships. The discussion revealed both the immense potential and the practical challenges of leveraging platform data and capabilities for public benefit.
Scenesetting and Report Launch
- Fairoz Ahmad (Moderator), Programme Fellow, Tech for Good Institute
- Erlanggasakti Ubaszti Putra, Programme Analyst, Tech for Good Institute
- Dr. Saliltorn Thongmeenshuk, Thailand Development Research Institute
Moderator and Panellists
- Citra Handayani Nasruddin (Moderator) Programme Director, Tech for Good Institute
- Nathchaya Pongakkarawat, Director, TDRI; Former Advisor, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society
- Jirawat Poomsrikaew, Advisor, Thai Digital Platform Trade Association
- Kasama Kongsmak, Acting Senior Executive Vice President, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA)
- Sukit Khrutkhong, Director, Informal Labour Protection Division, Ministry of Labour
- Panotporn Chongteerachote, Krisdika Counsel, Office of the Council of State of Thailand
- Nonarit Bisonyabut, Research Fellow, Macroeconomic Policy and Applied Economics, TDRI
Key Takeaways
1. Reaching the Invisible: Platforms Serving Previously Unseen Populations
The panel revealed a striking reality: Thailand’s approximately 20 million informal workers, including platform-based riders, delivery personnel, domestic workers, hawkers, and agricultural workers, remain largely invisible to government services and social protection systems. These populations have historically been beyond the state’s reach, unable to access social security, welfare, or formal workplace protections. The Ministry of Labour’s new Independent Workers Protection Act, currently advancing through Cabinet, represents a critical step toward bringing these vulnerable populations under formal protection, acknowledging that approximately 90% of countries worldwide recognise platform work as a special form of labour requiring tailored frameworks.
Digital platforms possess unprecedented visibility into these communities through transaction data, behavioural patterns, and service records. Telecom and platform data can reveal population behaviour that the government has never been able to access systematically. Properly governed data sharing between platforms and government could enable targeted policy interventions for communities that have historically remained invisible. Platforms maintain direct relationships with informal workers, process millions of daily transactions generating rich behavioural data, and operate verification systems that could form the foundation for digital identity frameworks, making them natural partners for governments seeking to extend protection and services to previously unreachable populations.
2. Speed and Scale: Platform-Enabled Efficiency in Service Delivery
Thailand’s experience with digital government initiatives demonstrates that platform infrastructure can dramatically accelerate government-citizen interactions. Successful examples include PromptPay, which positioned Thailand among the first countries to use QR code payments efficiently, Paotang (digital wallet) for welfare distribution, and Law.go.th, which has received 600,000-700,000 public comments on 3,000-4,000 draft laws over the past 5-6 years, significantly improving legislative quality by ensuring citizen voices are heard before laws are enacted. The upcoming Central Application Submission Center will further consolidate services, allowing citizens to submit requests to any government agency from a single portal.
The urgency extends beyond convenience to economic survival. Thailand faces a critical situation where tourism-based service exports are stagnating while digital service imports are proliferating, potentially tipping the current account negative within 5-10 years. Platforms’ ability to process millions of transactions with minimal friction offers a model for government service delivery, particularly crucial for crisis response and welfare distribution to underserved communities. When disasters strike or economic shocks require rapid assistance to be distributed, platform infrastructure can reach vulnerable populations within hours rather than weeks.
3. Trusted Collaboration: Data Governance and Adaptive Regulation as Foundations
The recurring theme across all speakers was that sustainable public-private partnerships require moving beyond fear-based, punitive regulatory relationships toward collaborative, trust-building relationships. Three essential elements emerged for effective collaboration: co-defining problems together rather than government or platforms working in isolation, institutionalising collaboration mechanisms so that engagement is not ad hoc, and expanding regulatory innovation to match technological innovation. The platform industry emphasised that platforms do not oppose regulation but want clear, implementable rules rather than analogue-era frameworks awkwardly applied to digital businesses. Multiple speakers called for regulatory guidelines to clear outdated laws and safe spaces where both the government and the private sector can experiment without excessive liability concerns. The consensus was clear: without mutual trust, transparent data governance frameworks, and adaptive regulatory approaches that evolve with technology, the transformative potential of platform-government partnerships will remain unrealised.
Catch the event reel here:
