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Vietnam: New Rules on Use of Radio and Television Services

by 2 Mins Read

Vietnam has just released today a long-awaited Decree No. 71/2022/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree No. 06/2016/ND-CP on the Management, Provision and Use of Radio and Television Services (“Decree 71“).

Decree 71 will take effect as of 01 January 2023, the same effective date as the 2022 Cinema Law.

In summary, compared with the latest draft version in July 2022, the MIC only made some slight updates to the wording of Decree 71.

Salient issues under Decree 71 include the following:

a. VOD services as regulated services: Decree 71 provides that radio and television services include all types of OTT/VOD services.

b. Licensing requirements for subscription OTT/VOD service providers

  • All subscription OTT/VOD service providers must obtain a Pay TV License before providing services in Vietnam. Applicants, however, are limited to companies incorporated under Vietnamese laws only.

c. Content edition requirements on OTT/VOD services

  • News and affair programs and programs on politics, national defence, security, economy, and society must have their contents produced [or] edited by the press agency having a license on radio and television operation before being provided.
  • Before providing their services, film providers must meet all pre-conditions that permit them to classify films in accordance with the Government’s regulations and be legally responsible for film classification results pursuant to classification criteria prescribed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (“MOCST“); in case these pre-conditions have not been met, film providers can request the MOCST or its authorized agency to perform the classification of films that have not yet been granted a Permit of film classification or Broadcasting Decision. This is consistent with the provision under the new Cinema Law.
  • Providers of sports and entertainment programs must edit and classify content before providing such programs on the services according to principles of content edition, classification and warning prescribed by the MIC and other relevant laws.
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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.

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