NBTC Proceeds in Building Consumer Self-Protection Network

(26 - 27 August 2016) Broadcasting Consumer Protection Bureau under Office of the NBTC together with Broadcasting Consumer Protection Sub-committee jointly organized an activity to promote the formation of consumer network in regional level at Khum Phu Kham Hotel, Muang District, Chiang Mai Province. The event was attended by over 100 representatives from consumer network which included culinary and pharmacy group, handicapped group, underprivileged group, ethnicity group, children or youth group, labor group, LGBT group, consumer group, complainant group, scholar group, ASO group, village health volunteers group and civil society group.

Ms. Supinya Klangnarong, NBTC committee and Chairman of Broadcasting Consumer Protection Sub-committee, stated at the opening of seminar event that this is the “3^rd Broadcasting Consumer Protection Regional Level Seminar” organized in the northern region. The activity aims to strengthen consumers in broadcasting industry covering every region nationwide, including promoting the potential of broadcasting consumer protection network by ensuring they have complete and proper knowledge and understandings on consumer rights and encouraging their engagement knowledge and opinions sharing including social campaigns. In addition, relevant state agencies were also invited to attend the seminar event to be informed of and discuss on consumer media with the aim to build a mechanism for consumer protection with NBTC Regional Office being the node of consumer protection operation.

“Consumers today are still facing the problem of consumer rights violation such as receiving false or misleading contents from product or service commercials which leads to unnecessary spending, violation of basic human rights due to inappropriate criminal news presentation and violation of women and children rights from presentation of violent or inappropriate contents. What’s more, advertising contents can be hidden in various forms, particularly commercial articles which often aim to persuade or mislead consumers. This activity was therefore initiated to promote and support the building of broadcasting consumer protection network as a social mechanism to ensure proper knowledge and understanding on consumer rights among general public in order to sustainably encourage public engagement starting from monitoring expression of opinions to participation in formulating media management policy together with key agencies or organizations. The activity is also expected to be a mechanism for promoting knowledge sharing in order to create active society and raise awareness on the importance of consumer rights in relation to broadcasting and television businesses, leading to other mechanisms such as legal and knowledge mechanisms carried out by state agencies / regulator (NBTC) and relevant allied organizations,” explained Ms. Supinya. For more information, please contact Broadcasting Consumer Protection Bureau via Tel. 02 271 7600 ext. 5744, 5732 or http://bcp.nbtc.go.th.