Navigating Vietnam’s data protection legal framework is no easy task since the requirements are scattered in several pieces of legislation. Vietnam had its own comprehensive set of rules to regulate data protection until 2023’s Decree 13 on Personal Data Protection. Given its status as a government decree, the previous National Assembly’s laws still prevail over it, causing some confusion and inconsistency in the framework. Unlike the EU and many other countries, Vietnam does not have an independent data protection authority. Instead, the power to enforce data protection laws is currently divided among different authorities via different legislation. Since last year, Vietnamese lawmakers have been actively finalizing various data protection laws and are determined to meet the deadlines of their ambitious schedule.
