You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

September 24, 2024

Vietnam Releases First Draft of New Personal Data Protection Law

Subscribe to Updates

On September 24, 2024, the government of Vietnam issued the first draft of a new Law on Personal Data Protection (“Draft PDPL”). As foreshadowed in our previous legal update, the Ministry of Public Security has been very active in developing this draft law. With this draft, they promise to continue their considerable efforts to establish a robust personal data protection culture in Vietnam, as the Draft PDPL indicates a tentative entry into force on January 1, 2026.

With a tentative adoption by the National Assembly in May 2025, the Draft PDPL does not include any transition period, save for micro-enterprises, SMEs, and startups, which are only exempted from appointing a data protection department in their first two years of existence, while the timeline to comply with other obligations under the PDPL remains the same as for other enterprises.

The Draft PDPL includes 68 articles, divided into seven chapters, making it more extensive than last year’s Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection (“PDPD”), and expressly addresses personal data protection in many fields, including marketing services, behavioral advertising, big-data processing, AI, cloud computing, labor monitoring and recruitment, financial and credit information, health and insurance, and others.

It remains unclear how the PDPL will interact with the PDPD (whether it will replace its predecessor or coexist with it), although the Draft PDPL provides that it will prevail over any laws that have provisions on personal data protection that differ from the provisions of the PDPL.

Among the important new developments of the Draft PDPL when compared to the PDPD, we note:

  • Consent remains the main legal basis for processing, with limited exceptions (still not including “legitimate interest”). However, consent for cross-border transfer is further regulated under the Draft PDPL, including for intra-group sharing.
  • Data processing impact assessment dossiers for controllers and processors (“DPIA”) and transfer impact assessment for transferors (“TIA”) are retained, but, for the latter, the cases of transfer of personal data abroad have been further defined. These DPIAs and TIAs will have to be updated and submitted again to the authorities every six months or immediately upon material change.
  • New definitions have been inserted, such as “developers”, “personal data protection organization”, “personal data protection expert”, “de-identification of personal data”, “use of personal data for marketing”, “use of personal data for behavioral advertising”, and “personal data protection credit rating”, and other definitions currently found in the PDPD have been modified (e.g., land use right-related information has been included as “sensitive information”).
  • A data protection department must be appointed for basic personal data processing (it is no longer limited to sensitive personal data processing) and the Draft PDPL includes a recognition that a data protection department can be an external service provider (i.e., a personal data protection organization). The Draft PDPL further regulates this new service.
  • Certification mechanisms are introduced as credit ratings for personal data protection (high credibility, trust, pass, failing).
  • The 72-hour timeline to address certain data subjects’ requests and to notify the authorities in case of violation of the personal data protection regulations remains unchanged.

We will publish a deeper dive into the Draft PDPL shortly to provide you with more information on this new draft and draw comparisons with the PDPD, which was just enacted last year. [EDIT: Please see “Vietnam’s Draft Personal Data Protection Law: An In-Depth Look.”] Businesses are strongly encouraged to continue monitoring the development of this new legislation for preparation and to provide comments during the public consultation phase, which is open until November 24, 2024.

Related Professionals

Industries

Technology

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

January 13, 2025
The State Bank of Vietnam’s Circular No. 50/2024/TT-NHNN regulating safety and security for the provision of online services in the banking sector (“Circular 50”), issued on October 31, 2024, took effect on January 1, 2025, with delayed effectiveness for certain provisions on (i) network, communication, and security systems, online banking application software, and mobile banking application software (July 1, 2025); (ii) transaction confirmation for payment transactions conducted via the straight-through processing method (January 1, 2026); and (iii) authentication forms and reporting obligations (July 1, 2026). The cybersecurity situation in Vietnam is complicated, and the banking and finance sector has been one of the top targets of high-tech criminals. Circular 50 seeks to enhance user protection by expanding the technical requirements to more services in the banking sector as well as standardizing how transactions are authenticated. Expanded Scope of Services Covered Previous regulations on safety and security of online services in the banking sector only covered banking services and intermediary payment services. Circular 50 expands the scope to include other services of credit institutions and foreign bank branches such as credit information services, foreign exchange services, securities depository services, and services related to factoring and letters of credit, which now need to comply with technical requirements and standards for online services such as firewalls and DMZ network barriers. Risk-Based Approach to Authentication Circular 50 sets out standards for payment transactions and card transactions by: Classifying various online transactions based on the type of client, the purpose of the transfer, the value of the specific transaction, and the total value of certain transactions during the day; and Applying various types of authentication for the corresponding types of online transactions, e.g., using passwords or PINs for small-value online transactions, and using OTPs (through SMS, voice, or email), biometric matching, or e-signatures for
Read More
January 10, 2025
On January 8, 2025, Thailand’s Office of the Personal Data Protection Committee published two notifications in the Government Gazette—one for data controllers and the other for data processors—concerning exemptions for data controllers and data processors from the requirement to create and maintain records of processing activities (ROPAs) under the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019). The notification for data processors took effect on January 9, 2025, the day after its publication. The notification for data controllers will take effect on April 8, 2025. The content of these notifications is identical to that in the draft versions of the notifications previously released for public consultation in October 2024. For more information on the ROPA exemptions for data controllers and data processors, or on any aspect of personal data protection in Thailand, please contact Nopparat Lalitkomon at [email protected] or Wilin Somya at [email protected].
Read More
January 9, 2025
On January 1, 2025, Myanmar’s State Administration Council enacted Cybersecurity Law No. 1/2025, which aims to regulate various aspects of digital security and online activities. The law has not yet been implemented and will come into force on a date specified by the Myanmar president, who will also provide an official adoption and compliance timeline for individuals and organizations impacted by the new regulations. Below are some of the key provisions, implications, and penalties under the Cybersecurity Law. Extraterritorial penalties. The law contains an important provision that authorizes penalties against Myanmar citizens who are found guilty of violations, even if these occur outside the country’s borders. VPN definition and regulation. Virtual private networks (VPNs) are defined by this law as specific systems that function as backup networks by using technological means in order to ensure the safety of linking networks to each other. This definition sets the framework for subsequent regulations and penalties associated with VPN usage. The law does not restrict individuals or entities from using VPNs; it regulates VPN service providers. Penalties for unapproved VPN services. Establishing a VPN or providing VPN services without approval from the designated ministry (to be appointed later by the government) can result in significant penalties. For individuals, the punishment may be imprisonment for 1–6 months, a fine of MMK 1–10 million (approx. USD 476–4,760), or both, with the proceeds of the violation being confiscated. If the violator is a company or organization, the minimum fine will be MMK 10 million, and the proceeds will be confiscated. Government oversight. The ministry designated by the government is authorized to investigate and take control of cybersecurity services and digital platform services for national defense and security purposes, or upon request from a government department or organization in accordance with respective laws. Licensing requirements. The
Read More
January 6, 2025
On December 24, 2024, the government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 163/2024/ND-CP, providing guidelines for implementing the new Telecommunications Law that took effect on July 1, 2024 (“Decree 163”). This new decree replaces Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP and its amendments (“Decree 25”) and took effect immediately upon issuance, with regulations on data center services, cloud computing services, and basic telecom services over the internet (“over-the-top” or OTT telecom services) having an official effective date of January 1, 2025. Decree 163 introduces substantial changes across the telecom sector, covering various aspects including service provision, licensing, standards and technical regulations, quality, passive infrastructure planning, dispute resolution, and more. Hence, it is necessary for enterprises to conduct a compliance review to identify gaps between the new decree and their business models, and take necessary steps to ensure lawful business operations in Vietnam. Below are some highlights of Decree 163. Expanded Scope of Services For basic telecom services, Decree 163 has introduced machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and classified it as a basic telecom service. This establishes a regulatory framework for IoT device communication, previously unregulated in Decree 25. For value-added telecom services, in light of the new Telecommunications Law, Decree 163 provides more detailed regulations for new telecom services such as data center services, cloud computing services, and OTT telecom services, which were not addressed in Decree 25. Regulation of Three New Telecom Services Expanding on the Telecommunications Law’s definitions of data center services, cloud computing services, and OTT telecom services, Decree 163 applies a light-touch management approach to regulate these three new services, as follows: Offshore providers: Cross-border service providers are exempt from signing commercial agreements with licensed local telecom companies. They only need to notify the Vietnam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) using the prescribed procedures and forms before offering services. Onshore providers: The foreign
Read More