Vietnamese Government issued New Draft Amendment of Internet Decree to reinforce cybersecurity, online IP protection

Vietnamese Government issued New Draft Amendment of Internet Decree to reinforce cybersecurity, online IP protection, Vietnamese Government issued New Draft Amendment of Internet Decree, Changes in the management of the content on the Internet, Obligations of Cross-Border Information Providers, The importance of the precise law on the management and protection of online content on the virtual network

Vietnamese Government issued New Draft Amendment of Internet Decree to reinforce cybersecurity, online IP protection

The Vietnamese Government has recently issued a draft decree amending Decree 72 for public consultation this month, following a draft outline of the Draft Amendment published last year in order to deal with the critical conditions that are happening across the nation’s virtual network (Internet). This new draft amendment’s main goal is to reinforce cybersecurity, online IP protection, and regulate cloud computing services 

Some background knowledge about the Draft Amendment

The agency responsible for drafting this draft Amendment is the Science and Technology Department.

Up until now, this Draft Amendment is still in the status of collecting opinions from the people. 

It is expected that this amendment will affect telecommunications businesses, video game publishers, and business entities whose activities are related to the management of the provision and use of Internet services and information on the network (e-newspapers, social networks, sales websites…).

The draft supplements the management regulations for general electronic information sites, which include:

  • Social networks: The draft adds regulations governing the appearance of the site (interface, domain name, information presentation, etc.), and regulations on content management of the site (fields of activity, the content of news articles, production links of journalistic products, etc.);
  • Enterprises providing cross-border information services: The draft simplifies licensing procedures, adds regulations on user identification, news display mode, responsibility for information screening, etc.;
  • Domain name registration, maintenance, and dispute resolution: The draft supplements the responsibility for reporting activities, coordinating with state agencies to handle information of violations, sanctions in case of non-fulfillment of responsibilities, etc.

Furthermore, the draft also requires Internet service providers to connect to the National Internet Exchange Station (VNIX)…

According to the Draft Amendment, the providers of data center services, including cloud computing offerings are now demanded to get a business license and set out rights and obligations of such providers and their customers.

Specifically, the Draft Amendment extends several obligations imposed on cross-border information providers, include the storage of data, set up of branch or representative office in Vietnam under the Cybersecurity Law, and the handling of requests for temporarily locking/removal of illegal contents which include those violating intellectual property rights upon users’ requests.

Changes in the management of the content on the Internet

Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP dated 15 July 2013 on Internet services and online information has been one of the most important legal instruments in the protection and management of cyberspace. Because of its influences, some experts even regard it as the “Vietnam Internet Decree”. Despite the strict regulations of Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP, following with the amendments made to Decree 72 in 2018, there are still many critical problems in the virtual network in Vietnam’s society. 

One of the most significant issues in Vietnam’s Internet nowadays is the influence of foreign Internet service providers. For the past decade or so, they have slowly infiltrated into Vietnam and gradually takes advantage of the Vietnamese’s personnel data, along with many other things. 

In addition, Vietnam’s data center market is growing rapidly and is predicted to reach US$ 1641 million by 2025 because of the general shift of enterprises to cloud platforms and the development of IoT, big data, and cloud-based solutions.

Accordingly, due to these many existing difficulties in Vietnam’s virtual network society, the Government’s oversight of these services has become inevitable.  

Obligations of Cross-Border Information Providers

According to the current legislation, the organizations and individuals associated with cross-border provision of information via digital platforms (e.g. websites, social networking sites, online applications, search engines) have the responsibility to: 

  • Provide contact information, including name, address, and local contact point to the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC);
  • Cooperate in goodwill with MIC to remove or block access to illegal content on their platforms. 

The organizations and individuals who have to fulfill these obligations are:

  • The entities who rent digital information storage facilities in Vietnam; 
  • The entities are used or accessed by at least one million monthly internet users in Vietnam. 

It should be noted that for criteria involving “one million monthly internet users in Vietnam”, the Draft Amendment has proposed to expand to those who have 100 thousand monthly unique visitors. Furthermore, in addition to the change in the number of users/visitors to a specific site, the draft amendment also propose to add the following supplementary obligations of cross-border information providers:

  • Block access to illegal services (apart from illegal information) per MIC’s request;
  • Enter into a content cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese press when giving information cited from the local media based on copyright regulations;
  • Store data and set up a branch or representative office in Vietnam under the Cybersecurity Law and its guiding regulations;
  • Build a department whose main purpose is to receive, process, and respond to requests from competent authorities following Vietnamese law. In addition, this department also have the obligation to resolve and answer complaints from Vietnamese users;
  • Manage Vietnamese users’ complaints within 24 hours from receipt of the complaints; temporarily lock or remove the complained content that has the impacts on the lawful rights and interests of others if the complaint is valid, and inform the uploader of the potential infringement of the reasons for the locking/blocking/removal and email address of the complainant (if any);
  • Permit only accounts, community pages, and content channels in Vietnam that have reported their contact information to MIC the rights to live stream and participate in revenue-generating services in any form, in case of cross-border information provision via social networking sites;
  • Publicize policies and procedures to support customers in managing network safety and security issues in a succinct, clear, visible, and perceivable manner; 
  • Submit an annual report by 31 December or an ad-hoc report on cross-border information provision activities upon request of MIC (Department of Radio, Television, and Electronic Information).

In addition to other requirements, the content of the above-mentioned annual/ad-hoc report to MIC is obliged to include the number of user accounts and unique visitors, revenue in Vietnam, Vietnamese users’ complaints that have been handled, number of illegal contents that have been solved, and contact information at the moment of filing the report.

Most prominently, the Draft Amendment has recommended that upon MIC’s request, cross-border information providers must have a special mechanism in their platforms that is able to take down/restrict content and temporarily lock/remove upon Vietnamese users’ requests concerning these two types of illegal contents: 

  • Information affecting the normal physical and mental development of children;
  • Information infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others.

If this draft amendment is officially passed, this provision may become the first one that enables the relevant parties to be able to demand cross-border information providers to take actions against IP infringing content per users’ requests.

Motivated by the recent Australian new media law and pressure on social media platforms to share revenue with the traditional press, a new obligation to enter into a content cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese press when providing information cited from the local media has now also been established.

Datacenter services

For the first time, this new Draft Amendment has also presented precise definitions of the data center services, including dedicated server, co-location, data storage services, and cloud computing. Specifically, cloud computing was established to include Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

The Draft Amendment claims that the providers of data center services need to apply for a business license for offering data center services before the MIC. In addition, the provision of data center services to clients abroad must also be properly notified to the MIC. Precisely, the providers must: 

  • Comprehend the relevant technical standards in designing, building, and operating the data center; 
  • Obtain software and applications that have the capabilities to manage and store customer information;
  • Establish a procedure that has the capabilities to verify the information and protect customers’ data.

In the circumstance that there has been clear evidence establishing the connection between their clients and the actions of illegal activities, the providers of data center services have the responsibility to stop serving and to report their clients to the authorities. Additionally, the related authorities can request them to stop serving the violating clients. 

Furthermore, the Draft Amendment also stipulates that the providers do not have the right to transfer their clients’ data abroad and must enforce appropriate steps to protect the data. Records of client information should be stored for at least 5 years after the services of the data center for that client stopped.

The importance of the precise law on the management and protection of online content on the virtual network

If passed through, the Draft Amendment will have significant influences on all major industries in Vietnam society like the tech industry, including cloud service providers, social media platforms, and cross-border information providers. 

Accordingly, tech-based Internet service providers both in Vietnam and abroad should keep a close watch on the developments of the Draft Amendment, as relevant changes on Internet regulations will call for timely compliance.

The Draft Amendment is now under public consultation with the phase looking to be complete by 5 September 2021.

*** Other Articles***

– You could visit here to see the Trademark Registration in Vietnam.

– You can also check the Vietnam Trademark Law: Detailed Guide And Legal Notes.

– You could check Questions of filing trademark in Vietnam: POA, Trademark requirement and trademark fee in Vietnam.

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