Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is drafting two reports to present to the government in May 2024 to advocate for the development and adoption of a Law on Personal Data Protection. These reports include an assessment of the policy impact of the proposal to develop a personal data protection law, and an assessment of the current state of social relations related to personal data protection. Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection (PDPD), adopted in April 2023, became the first comprehensive legal instrument on data protection in Vietnam. When the National Assembly was debating its text and adoption in 2022 and 2023, questions were raised as to the status of this new regulation and the legality to adopt a decree before a law. In accordance with the public announcements made throughout the development of the PDPD assuring that a law would be developed at a later stage, the MPS is now advocating for the development of a Personal Data Protection Law and has drafted the two reports pursuant to the Law on the Promulgation of Legal Documents. The main arguments advanced by the MPS in the two reports are as follows: As the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution, any restrictions thereof must be made through a law and not a decree. The MPS is notably referring to the lawful basis for processing and limited exceptions to consent under the PDPD. This may be a sign that the MPS intends to widen the exceptions to consent under the new law. The definitions of “personal data” and “personal data protection” need to be harmonized to consolidate the regulatory framework. The MPS indicates that there are 69 legal documents directly related to “personal data protection” in Vietnam with more than 10 different definitions, while “personal information” appears in

Last year, the government of Vietnam issued the Personal Data Protection Decree (PDPD), which took effect on July 1, 2023. The Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (referred to as “A05”) under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is tasked with implementing and enforcing the requirements under the PDPD. While a decree on sanctioning provisions for noncompliance with the PDPD is still pending issuance, further movements from the MPS/A05 indicate that it aims to start conducting its first inspections into PDPD compliance. This is the first time that companies and government agencies have been officially questioned by the MPS about their compliance with the PDPD. The purposes of this inspection program are (1) to evaluate the compliance status of a group of selected companies and government agencies and to understand challenges in complying with the PDPD requirements; (2) to propose sanctions for noncompliance; and (3) to collect information and comments for the development of the upcoming Personal Data Protection Law—not to spot noncompliance with the PDPD specifically. This round of inspection includes a number of companies in 14 sectors (including e-commerce, aviation, telecom, banking and finance, intermediary payment, insurance, gaming, education, healthcare, real estate, data processing services, ride hailing, etc.). The companies targeted by this inspection program must: (1) submit a report on compliance to the MPS/A05 by May 30, 2024 (this report is different from the data protection impact assessment (DPIA)/transfer impact assessment (TIA) submission requirements); and (2) coordinate with the MPS/A05 on any further investigation actions from June to August 2024. The inspection results will be available by September 2024. Key information to be reported includes, among others: (1) a description of the activities and measures carried out to implement the PDPD (such as protecting data subjects’ rights, performing administrative procedures, preventing violations, etc.)

The latest edition of Practical Law Company’s Doing Business in … Global Guide includes a chapter on Vietnam written by lawyers from Tilleke & Gibbins’ Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi offices. The popular guide, produced in association with Lex Mundi, the world’s largest network of independent law firms, provides the ins and outs of establishing and operating a business in more than 50 jurisdictions worldwide.The Vietnam chapter covers the following main topics: