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| Monitoring public service performance at the Da Nang Intelligent Operation Centre__Photo: My Ha/VNA |
Effective as of July 1 this year, the 2025 Digital Transformation Law (the Law) marks an important milestone in Vietnam’s institutional improvement, creating a unified legal framework for the country to seize opportunities in the digital space, enhance national competitiveness, build a digital government serving the people and businesses, develop the digital economy, and foster a safe and sustainable digital society.
Formulated as a framework law connecting other specialised legislations, the Law does not cover matters already regulated by sector-specific laws. Instead, it sets out general principles and unifies requirements and coordination mechanisms to ensure consistency in the organisation of digital transformation nationwide.
With 48 articles arranged in eight chapters, the Law sets out principles and policies on digital transformation; national coordination of digital transformation activities; measures to facilitate digital transformation, digital government, digital economy and digital society; and responsibilities of agencies, organisations and individuals involved in digital transformation activities nationwide.
The Law also affirms that matters concerning data, e-transactions, cybersecurity, telecommunications, artificial intelligence and other specialised fields will be governed by the relevant laws, while ensuring consistency with the principles and requirements set out by the Law.
Legalising fundamental concepts of digital transformation
For the first time, the Law provides a legal framework for digital transformation, digital systems, digital data, digital identity, digital transactions, digital infrastructure, digital platforms, digital government, digital economy, and digital society.
The Law clarifies the distinction between digital transformation and the application of information technology. While the application of information technology merely transfers non-digital activities into the digital space, digital transformation changes modes of operation, governance models and methods of service provision.
Digital transformation is not about developing fragmented software, but building shared digital platforms, default connectivity and default data sharing, thereby promoting economies of scale, reducing costs, enabling rapid and broad deployment, and transforming the operation of the entire system. Digital technology, digital data and digital platforms serve merely as tools for achieving the digital transformation’s goal of creating new value, efficiency and transparency.
Regarding digital design and architecture, the Law introduces mandatory requirements for systems to be designed on the principle of being “connected by default, shared by default and secure by default”. Digital systems must therefore prioritise cloud computing, shared platforms and once-only data declaration. For state agencies, data connection and sharing are default obligations with no exceptions, while cybersecurity and network safety must be embedded from the design stage.
In addition to completing the conceptual framework, the Law provides macro-level governance tools, including the National Digital Transformation Programme, the National Digital Architecture Framework, the Data Governance Framework, the Digital Competency Framework and the National Digital Transformation Measurement Index. Described as a “central coordination system”, these tools help the State track progress, promote implementation and ensure consistency in digital transformation across national, ministerial, sectoral and local levels.
Protecting data and privacy
The Law is formulated on the principle that users must be at the centre of digital systems that must be made convenient, accessible, and easy to use for diverse groups, including disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
As per the Law, data must be collected, managed, shared and declared only once and used effectively to improve the quality of decision-making process and services. Systems must be designed on the basis of open standards and open architecture, enabling connection and integration from the outset, with standardised application programming interfaces that facilitate data sharing and interoperability across systems.
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| Application of electronic medical records in medical examination and treatment at Viet Tiep Friendship Hospital, Hai Phong city__Photo: VNA |
In addition, the Law requires cybersecurity, data protection and privacy to be ensured in accordance with regulations, while allowing flexible implementation that can adapt to the rapid development of technology. It also upholds inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in all decisions based on digital technology.
Digital transformation activities will be linked with measurement, assessment, supervision and continuous improvement in order to improve service quality. State agencies are required to adhere to these principles, while organisations and enterprises outside the state sector are encouraged to apply them in their operations.
Enhancing the effectiveness of state management
In order to narrow the digital divide, particularly in remote, far-flung, border and island areas, the Law provides the principle of prioritising resources to ensure these areas have infrastructure facilities capable of providing essential digital services, including online learning, telemedicine and online public services.
As the digital economy is regarded as a new driver of growth, the Law introduces mechanisms to support small- and medium-sized enterprises in applying digital platforms and participating in digital economy value chains, with the expectation of contributing double-digit growth in the coming period. For digital transformation projects facing difficulties in determining total investment and selecting implementation models, the Law provides a pilot development mechanism with independent funding sources, along with a partner selection mechanism to test solutions before official investment projects are implemented.
The state management agency in charge of digital transformation will develop and publish a unified set of indicators to assess the level of digital transformation; build, manage and operate a platform for statistics, measurement, monitoring and evaluation of practical digital transformation; and annually assessing the level of digital transformation of the country, ministries, sectors and localities. Assessment results will be publicly disclosed and serve as a basis for ranking, commendation, policy adjustment and prioritised allocation of funding to agencies and localities.
Regarding digital government, the Law requires state agencies to provide public services, conduct internal governance and manage operations in the digital space unless otherwise provided by law. Direction and administration must be based on complete, accurate and timely digital data. Operational processes must be reviewed, standardised and restructured to ensure streamlining, avoid duplication, and strengthen automation.
Administrative procedures are to be provided by default as end-to-end online public services, and may shift to partial online provision unless otherwise provided by law or in the event of a technical incident that cannot be immediately resolved. State agencies are responsible for guiding and supporting citizens, publicising dossier-processing procedures and results, and strictly handling officials who request additional documents even though the system is already connected to national or specialised databases.- (VLLF)
