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

January 5, 2023

Vietnam’s Data Protection Regulations: What to Expect in 2023

Subscribe to Updates

Data protection in Vietnam has been an ever-changing area of law in the last few years, with many legislative and practical developments. From its initiative to build the very first comprehensive Personal Data Protection Decree to meet international standards, to its actions to tackle widespread illegal data processing and trading, the Vietnamese government has shown its determination to strengthen the protection of data, which it has recognized as one of the national key tasks in the Prime Minister’s Strategy for Development of E-Government.

The year 2023 is expected to be another year of many important changes made to the law and practices in this area. This article discusses what we anticipate to be the key upcoming developments in Vietnam’s data protection regime that businesses may wish to keep a close eye on to ensure compliance.

Tightened Rules on Data Collection and Data Transfer

The conditions for personal data processing under the current law are rather sketchily outlined. In general, the data subject’s consent to the scope and purposes of the data processing may be considered sufficient for any collection, use, retention, or sharing of personal data. Explicit consent is not clearly required, except when the data is collected in e-commerce, used for direct marketing purposes, or for other strictly controlled activities. This leads to the practice where data controllers usually do not treat consent as a serious matter. In addition, once consent has been obtained, data controllers tend to comfortably collect whatever data they want, since the law does not require the collection to be “proportionate.”

This situation is expected to change in 2023 with more stringent regulations on personal data processing underway. The first and most influential set of rules on data protection to come out early this year will likely be the much talked-about Personal Data Protection Decree (“PDPD”) developed by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), which has been in draft form since early 2021. The first public version of the draft PDPD (dated February 2021) proposed ruling out silence by data subjects as a valid form of consent, as well as requiring consent to be expressed in writing with a printable and reproducible format.

These new requirements, once taking force, could render illegal any processing of personal data without explicit consent. Other conditions of consent include that it can be made partially and conditionally, and withdrawn at any time by the data subject. In addition, the draft PDPD also proposed introducing the principle of data minimization (proportionality), according to which personal data collected must be limited to only what is necessary to accomplish the specified purposes.

The Draft Amended Consumers Protection Law (“Draft CPL”), scheduled to be promulgated within 2023, has also proposed tightening the conditions on consent for processing of consumers’ personal data. The Draft CPL requires traders, in obtaining consent for collecting consumer data, to establish a mechanism for consumers to select the types of information that they agree for the traders to collect and express their consent in a suitable form. For special processing purposes like sharing, disclosure, or transfer of personal data to third parties, and use of personal data for sending advertisements and introducing products, the Draft CPL requires a mechanism for the data subjects to clearly opt in to giving or not giving their consent. This requirement is similar to what is currently required for e-commerce websites/applications. In addition, bundled consent, i.e., a clause in a consumer contract or general terms and conditions that makes the conclusion of the contract or the terms and conditions dependent on the consumer’s consent to the collection, storage, and use of his or her data, is likely to be invalid under the Draft CPL.

Interestingly, the Draft CPL provides that collection of personal data that has been publicly disclosed does not require any notification to the consumers. This means scraping of publicly available personal data might be acceptable in Vietnam once the Draft CPL is promulgated and takes effect. However, scraping of non-publicly available personal data is still prohibited and could constitute a crime.

Apart from consent, the regulations on cross-border transfer of personal data will also soon be strengthened. The potential new approach to regulate cross-border transfer of personal data is believed to be revealed by chance in the Draft Decree on Sanctioning Administrative Violations in the Field of Cybersecurity (dated September 2021), which stipulates violations against the draft PDPD. Accordingly, the newly proposed conditions for cross-border data transfer may include only an impact assessment dossier for the transfer, a data transfer agreement between the sender and the recipient, and a post-transfer report to the personal data protection authority.

Compared to the onerous set of conditions for cross-border transfer of personal data that the MPS originally proposed in the draft PDPD, which include among others a state approval prior to the transfer and the storage of the original data in Vietnam, the new conditions appear less burdensome.

Intensified Regulatory Scrutiny

Despite the data protection regulations in place, reports on actual enforcement in practice have been rather limited. One possible reason is that regulatory inspectors have not been focusing on personal data in their activities. Things may change shortly with the recent message from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on its enforcement plan in this area (source).

In particular, the minister of the MIC announced that the MIC would conduct comprehensive inspections into companies’ compliance with the regulations on collection, processing, and protection of customers’ personal data in the coming time. Telecommunications carriers are said to be the first enterprises to be inspected, followed by postal companies and social networking platforms.

The issue of consent for data processing was notably highlighted by the minister in his discussion. Therefore, compliance in obtaining customer consent can be anticipated to be key in the MIC’s inspection scope. The implementation of technical and managerial measures to protect personal data according to the law is also likely to be scrutinized.

Continued Assertive Action against Illegal Data Trading

Vietnam has for years been a hotspot for the unauthorized trading of personal data, according to recent reports by the MPS and the MIC. The most common violation is where the infringing companies or their employees sell packages of customers’ identity and contact information including phone numbers, email addresses, and ID card information to third parties without authorization. Most of these data buyers would use the personal information for marketing purposes, including to make advertising calls or to send spam SMS or email advertisements to the information subjects. The violators may even use the personal data to commit financial fraud, including to obtain bank loans under the name of the data subject victims, or to impersonate state authorities or acquaintances of the victims to request money transfers (source). Data crimes therefore have been and will continue to be under the enforcement focus of the high-tech police at both the central and provincial levels.

The police are also likely to take a strict view and initiate a criminal prosecution against any act of illegal data trading. The most recent actions reported in the media include two cases where the police of Phu Tho Province prosecuted five individuals for the criminal act of “trading, exchanging, giving […] lawfully private information of an organization or individual on the computer or telecommunications network without the consent of the information owner” under Article 288 of the Criminal Code.

In one of the cases, two individuals were found using self-developed software to collect personal data of over 2 million people by scanning and capturing the data from Facebook and Google accounts, and selling the data. The other case involved three individuals’ collection and sale of more than 400,000 personal information records containing phone numbers and addresses, generating about VND 1.1 billion (approx. USD 47,000) from the illegal business (source). With the government’s determination to tackle data crimes, more criminal actions like these are expected to be seen in 2023.

Related Professionals

Industries

Technology

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

June 5, 2026
Vietnam’s AI regulatory framework has reached an important milestone. While the Law on Artificial Intelligence No. 134/2025/QH15 (AI Law) established the foundation for AI governance, many practical compliance requirements were left to implementing regulations. On April 30, 2026, the government issued Decree No. 142/2026/ND-CP (Decree 142), which took effect on May 1, 2026, and provides the first detailed guidance on the implementation of the AI Law. Although an official list of high-risk AI systems is still pending from the prime minister, Decree 142 provides valuable insight into how Vietnam’s risk-based AI regulatory framework will operate in practice. Risk Classification Framework The AI Law adopts a risk-based approach under which AI systems are classified as high-risk, medium-risk, or low-risk. Decree 142 builds on this framework by providing detailed guidance on how these classifications are determined. High-risk AI systems are determined based on factors such as (i) their potential impact on life, health, property, human rights, public interests, or national security; (ii) the sector in which they are deployed; and (iii) the scale of affected users or integration with critical infrastructure. The latest draft list of high-risk AI systems appears to follow these same principles. Medium-risk AI systems generally include systems that may mislead, influence, or manipulate users, particularly where users may not realize they are interacting with AI or AI-generated content. The focus is therefore on transparency and authenticity risks rather than broader societal or safety concerns. Low-risk AI systems are those that do not meet the criteria for either high-risk or medium-risk classification. Importantly, Decree 142 seeks to avoid over-classification. Certain systems may fall outside the high-risk or medium-risk regimes, including internal-use systems, office-support tools, technical editing applications, certain back-end processing systems, and AI systems used in artistic, gaming, cinematic, or other creative contexts. Providers must also review and
Read More
June 5, 2026
On May 11, 2026, Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security released a draft Child Protection Act (“CPA”) for public review. The draft CPA would completely repeal and replace the current Child Protection Act B.E. 2546 (2003). This represents the most comprehensive overhaul of Thailand’s child protection framework in over two decades, reflecting the government’s stated objective of modernizing the law to address evolving social challenges—including those arising from digital technology—and to promote greater coordination among government agencies, local authorities, and civil society. The public review period closes on June 9, 2026. Key changes introduced by the draft CPA that could have significant implications for businesses, particularly online platform providers, media companies, and entities operating child-related services in Thailand, are set out below. Expanded Definition of “Child” Under the current CPA, a “child” is defined as a person under the age of 18, excluding those who have attained legal majority through marriage. The draft CPA removes the marriage exception entirely, broadening the scope of the law’s protections to include all individuals under 18 without exception. Replacement of “Abuse” with Broader Concept of “Violence” The current CPA uses the term “abuse/cruelty,” which covers acts causing harm to a child’s liberty, body, or mind; sexual offenses against children; and using children in harmful or immoral activities. The draft CPA replaces this with the broader concept of “violence,” which encompasses any act or omission causing harm to a child’s body, mind, or development; abandonment or neglect; improper exploitation; and sexual abuse. Notably, the new definition adds developmental harm as a recognized category of injury and captures all forms of misconduct regardless of the child’s consent. New Standalone Definition of Sexual Abuse, Including Online Conduct One of the most significant additions in the draft CPA is the introduction of a standalone definition
Read More
May 25, 2026
After several years of policy discussion and continued efforts led by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) to relax the list of reserved businesses under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999) (FBA), the reform process has now reached a significant milestone. On May 12, 2026, the Thai cabinet approved in principle two draft subordinate legislative instruments aimed at delisting certain reserved business activities under the FBA and reducing licensing requirements for foreign business operators. These developments signal a renewed and concrete effort by the government to modernize Thailand’s business regulatory framework in order to attract foreign investment and boost Thailand’s competitiveness in the global market. Nine Businesses Set for FBA Delisting Below is a list of the nine businesses that are being targeted for delisting from the FBA’s restrictions. A draft ministerial regulation would delist the first eight reserved businesses, while a royal decree has been drafted to delist the ninth business: Telecommunications services (Type 1 license only, covering operators without their own telecommunications infrastructure), under the supervision of the Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission. Treasury center services subject to the Foreign Exchange Control Act B.E. 2485 and under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand. Securities-collateralized lending, pursuant to the laws governing securities and exchange and derivatives regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Agency, dealer, advisory, or fund management services relating to derivatives where the underlying assets fall outside the scope of the Derivatives Act B.E. 2546 (2003) Intra-group shared services, including administrative, human resources, and IT functions Intra-group domestic debt guarantee services Leasing of partial space for installation of financial service machines and automatic vending machines for employee use Petroleum drilling services Trading of agricultural product derivatives through a futures exchange, with physical delivery or receipt of agricultural products at a futures exchange–designated
Read More
May 25, 2026
Thailand published new rules on May 1, 2026, establishing clear procedures for how the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) handles digital assets seized during criminal and money laundering investigations. Taking effect the following day, the Regulation of the Anti-Money Laundering Board on the Custody and Management of Seized or Frozen Assets (No. 3) B.E. 2569 applies to digital asset businesses, cryptocurrency holders, and anyone subject to asset seizure under Thailand’s anti-money laundering laws. For the first time, authorities now have a detailed roadmap for transferring seized digital property from private or foreign control into secure state custody. Digital asset businesses holding customer assets under investigation must be prepared to comply with these rules compelling repatriation of such assets in enforcement actions. Expanded Definition of Digital Assets The regulation defines digital assets to include not only those covered by Thailand’s existing digital asset business law but also any other property that can be stored using the same methods as digital assets. This broad formulation means the custody rules will apply to emerging blockchain-based assets and tokenized property that may not yet fall within the statutory definition of a digital asset business, giving authorities flexibility as the technology evolves. Mandatory Transfer to Domestic Custody When digital assets are held with service providers outside Thailand, AMLO will first attempt to transfer them to an account the office maintains with a licensed domestic digital asset business operator. If the domestic operator does not support that particular asset, the office will instead move the assets to its own cold wallet (offline, internet-isolated storage system). If neither option is feasible, the seizing official will report the situation to the Anti-Money Laundering Committee for alternative instructions. A similar hierarchy governs assets held in an accused party’s private wallet or by any third party that is not a
Read More