
The Digital Economy and Society (DES) ministry has tasked three state organisations with conducting a joint study to learn more about apps that are pre-installed on smartphones.
The move follows a public outcry earlier this week when it was found that Oppo and Realme smartphones sold in Thailand came with a lending app pre-installed. The Chinese brands quickly axed the apps and said new phones would no longer include them. Operating system updates were expected to be released on Thursday to rectify the problem for existing users.
The Thailand Consumers Council (TCC), which first blew the whistle about the lending apps, has been invited to participate in discussions related to the study with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and the Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC).
The TCC revealed that the Fineasy app found on the Oppo and Realme phones could not be uninstalled as it was bundled with the operating system. It was capable of sending loan invitations and accessing users’ personal data, including their contact lists and phone numbers, it said.
DES Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said this was an unprecedented case and must be regulated by law or announcements.
“It is too early to identify which of the agencies will develop the supervisory framework,” he said on Wednesday.
“I think supervision of pre-installed apps could fall under the Computer Crime Act and Personal Data Protection Act.”
Wisit Wisitsora-At, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said clear guidelines should emerge by the end of the first quarter of this year.
He said the guidelines would cover all mobile phone brands and related devices.
Pol Col Suraphong Plengkham, director of the Inspection and Supervision Division at PDPC, said such pre-installed apps are called “bloatware”, meaning they are unnecessary and unwanted. They can be found in many mobile devices worldwide.
Bloatware apps occupy storage space on users’ devices, making them run more slowly.
He also noted that Fineasy did not hold a licence for offering personal loans from the Bank of Thailand. As well, it was believed to be storing consumers’ data abroad, which could breach the personal data protection law.