As the rumors travel fast and some have mistakenly spread the news that the draft Personal Data Protection Decree (“PDPD“) was issued, here is a quick update on the recent developments regarding the approval process of the draft PDPD in Vietnam.

By way of background, on 8 March 2022, the Vietnamese Government issued Resolution No. 27/NQ-CP (“Resolution 27“) on the Approval for the Dossier of the Draft PDPD.

As assigned by the Government under Resolution 72, earlier this month (i.e., April 2022), the Vietnam Ministry of Public Security (“MPS“) submitted the latest Draft PDPD to the National Assembly Standing Committee (“NASC“) to seek their comment/appraisal on the content as well as the promulgation of the PDPD.

In fact, the National Assembly Defense and Security Committee (“NADSC“) is in charge of the first review of the PDPD before submitting a report to the NASC on the same.

Although the PDPD was set to be appraised under the NASC’s plenary meeting session on 20 April 2022such agenda was delayed.

It appears that the NADSC has not yet been ready to report to the NASC regarding the PDPD. For now, the latest draft PDPD remains inaccessible and confidential. It is still unclear as to when the PDPD will be appraised/commented on by the NASC. However, we are hopeful that the final PDPD will be issued within May 2022.

As the rumors travel fast and some have mistakenly spread the news that the draft Personal Data Protection Decree was issued, here is a quick update on the recent developments regarding the approval process of the draft PDPD in Vietnam.

Author

Manh-Hung Tran is the practice group leader of the Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology Practice Groups of Vietnam offices. For years, he has been constantly ranked as a leading IP lawyer by numerous researchers such as Chambers Global and Chambers Asia. He regularly writes articles concerning pressing legal issues in both English and Vietnamese, and his works have been published regularly in various reputable publications. He has assisted the government in reviewing and revising the IP Law, the IP provisions under the country’s criminal code, the draft e-Transaction Law, and the first draft Personal Data Protection Decree, etc. While Hung's practices run the full gamut of IP work, he also specializes in the Telecommunications, Media, and Technology (TMT) practice, advising multinational corporations on data privacy, monetization, product reviews, AdTech, regulatory and user rights, cybersecurity, e-commerce, offshore social media, digital services, data breach and incidents, and other emerging technologies. He has been assisting international film studios and streaming clients with various film and TV series productions in Vietnam.