Do Quang Hung, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, Nguyen Vu Nam Vision & Associates
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| Internet services have become familiar to most Vietnamese people, especially youngsters__Photo: VNA |
On November 9, 2024, the Government issued Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP, on management, provision and use of Internet services and online information (Decree 147). Decree 147 takes effect on December 25, 2024, and replaces Decree 72/2013/ND-CP dated July 15, 2013, on management, provision and use of Internet services and online information, as amended by Decree 27/2018/ND-CP dated March 1, 2018, and Decree 150/2018/ND-CP dated November 7, 2018 (Decree 72).
Compared to Decree 72, the new Decree has many noteworthy new or revised provisions.
Cross-border provision of information
Responsibilities of information providers
When conducting cross-border provision of information to Vietnam using data storage services in Vietnam or achieving a total number of regular visits from Vietnam in 1 month (average statistics in six consecutive months) of 100,000 or more, foreign entities and individuals have the following (new) responsibilities:
· To notify their contact information to Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MOIC) according to Form No. 10 provided in the Appendix to Decree 147 within 60 days from the time of using hosting services in Vietnam or achieving the number of visitors as specified. The new Decree expressly stipulates that only foreign entities and individuals conducting cross-border provision of information to service users in Vietnam who have notified their contact information to the MOIC will be eligible for providing the livestream feature or perform revenue-generating activities in any form;
· To implement content cooperation agreements with Vietnamese press agencies when providing information quoted from the Vietnamese press on the basis of the intellectual property regulations. The new Decree states that contents of these agreements must include the following basic information: Agreement term; scope of use, contents intended for use, and responsibilities of each party; and method/form of payment of benefits. In case the two parties fail to reach a cooperation agreement, foreign entities and individuals providing cross-border information may not use or display information quoted from such agencies;
· To store information of every service user from Vietnam when he/she registers for a social network account, including: Full name, date of birth, and mobile phone number in Vietnam (or personal identification number). In case where the social network service user is a child (i.e. person aged under 16 years), the child’s parent or legal guardian is required to register the account using the information of the child’s parent or legal guardian and is responsible for monitoring and managing contents that the child accesses, posts and shares on the social network;
· To provide information of service users in Vietnam to competent authorities upon the latter’s requests;
· To verify accounts of social network service users using mobile phone numbers in Vietnam. Only in cases where users confirm that they do not have a mobile phone number in Vietnam, foreign entities and individuals providing social network services will verify such accounts using personal identification numbers in accordance with the identification and electronic authentication laws. In cases where social network service users use the livestream feature for commercial purposes, foreign entities and individuals providing social network services will also verify the accounts using personal identification numbers in accordance with the identification and electronic authentication laws. The new Decree also stipulates that only authenticated accounts are allowed to post information (writing articles and comments, livestreaming) and share information on social networks;
· To block and remove contents, services and applications in violation of law within 48 hours after receiving complaints from service users in Vietnam about contents that violate Article 8 of the Law on Cybersecurity;
· To describe the process and method of distributing contents on their social networks and publish it in the Service Provision Agreement/Community Standards for users to choose to use the services;
· To comply with the regulations on provision of pay radio and television services if the social network directly provides on-demand radio and television content services and collects subscription fees from service users;
· To make periodic reports no later than November 25 every year according to Form No. 09 provided in the Appendix to the new Decree on the provision of services to users in Vietnam or make ad-hoc reports related to national security issues, social order and safety, and emergency situations upon written requests or sent via electronic means of ABEI.
Responsibilities of information providers upon the handling of violations
When there is a violation of law, foreign entities and individuals are required to prevent and remove illegal contents, services and applications that violate Vietnam’s national security within 24 hours after receiving a request written or sent via electronic means from the MOIC, the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS) or a competent authority as specified by the relevant laws.
For social network accounts, community pages, community groups, and content channels that regularly provide illegal contents (i.e. within 30 days, there are at least 5 times of providing illegal contents or within 90 days, there are at least 10 times of providing illegal contents that the MOIC and MOPS request to block or remove), foreign entities and individuals have to temporarily block such accounts, community pages, community groups, and content channels from access by users in Vietnam within 24 hours after such a request written or sent via electronic means from the ABEI, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control of the MOPS (Department of Cyber Security) or a competent authority as specified by the relevant laws (Competent Authority). The temporary blocking period ranges from seven days to 30 days, depending on the number of times and severity of the violation;
At the request of the Competent Authority, foreign entities and individuals will permanently block accounts, community pages, community groups and content channels from access by users in Vietnam for they have posted contents that infringe upon the national security or those that have been temporarily blocked 3 times or more.
The new Decree clearly states that in case foreign entities and individuals fail to promptly prevent or remove contents that infringe upon Vietnam’s national security at the request of the Competent Authority, the MOIC and MOPS will apply technical measures to block all contents, services and applications on the network that are against the law and impose administrative sanctions in accordance with law. The blocking measures will only be removed after the violations have been handled by foreign entities and individuals at the request of the Competent Authority.
Websites
Licensing websites
Entities operating in Vietnam are only allowed to set up a general website and provide social network services upon obtaining a general website establishment license (this provision of Decree 72 is retained by Decree 147), a social network service provision license (formerly a social network establishment license under Decree 72) or a certificate of notification of social network service provision (a new type of license under Decree 147).
Websites that are not required to obtain the above licenses include: (i) websites providing specialized services; (ii) personal websites, internal websites; (iii) portals providing online information and public services of the state agencies on the cyber environment; and (iv) internal forums on websites. However, in order to provide general information, websites (i), (ii) and (iii) will need a general website establishment license.
Responsibilities of entities establishing general websites
(i) To have at least one server system located in Vietnam for inspection, examination, storage and provision of information upon requests of the Competent Authority and to resolve complaints of users regarding the service provision in accordance with law (the current laws stipulate that general websites and social networks subject to licensing must use at least one “.vn” domain name and store information on a server system with an IP address in Vietnam);
(ii) To be connected to the MOIC’s monitoring system for monitoring news and articles posted on general websites and making statistics on the number of visitors;
(iii) To prevent and remove contents, services and applications in contravention of law or infringing upon Vietnam’s national security within 24 hours (three hours under Decree 72) after receiving a request by phone, in writing or via electronic means from the ABEI, the Department of Cyber Security, or the provincial-level Department of Information and Communications (DOICs) and competent authorities as specified by specialized laws or when detecting violations themselves; and,
(iv) To link their general websites with electronic press agencies (excluding radio and television stations) so as to produce contents in the fields of science, technology, economics, culture, sports, entertainment, advertising and social welfare based on written agreements on cooperation in production of contents.
The new Decree clearly stipulates that in case of failure of website-establishing entities to handle violations (i) above as requested, the MOIC and MOPS will apply technical measures to block contents, applications and services that violate the laws and take statutory measures. The blocking measures may only be removed after violations have been handled as requested by the Competent Authority.
Social networks
Classification of social networks
The new Decree classifies social networks in the following types: (i) Foreign social networks provided by foreign entities across the border to Vietnam of which the management is carried out under the regulations applicable to foreign organizations and individuals providing cross-border information; (ii) domestic social networks provided by entities with the legal entity status in Vietnam, including social networks that have a total number of regular visits per month (average statistics in six consecutive months) of 10,000 or more or with more than 1,000 regular users per month as specified in Decree 72 (which are now referred to as “social networks with a large number of regular visitors”); and social networks that have a total number of regular visits per month (average statistics in six consecutive months) of less than 10,000 visits or with less than 1,000 regular users per month under Decree 72 (which are now referred to as “social networks with a small number of regular visitors”).
Licensing social networks
Entities in Vietnam may only provide social network services upon obtaining a license to provide social network services, for social networks with a large number of regular visitors; or a certificate of notification of provision of social network services, for social networks with a small number of regular visitors.
Management of social networks
Only social networks that have been granted a social network service provision license by the MOIC are allowed to provide livestreaming features or provide revenue-generating activities in any form. However, social networks with small numbers of regular visitors, if wishing to provide livestreaming features or provide revenue-generating activities, can apply for a social network service license.
When providing social network services and other specialized services falling within conditional business lines, multi-service digital platforms (providing and integrating multiple services on the same website or application) must have a license/certificate of notification of provision of social network services, license/certificate/confirmation of notification of provision of other specialized services and comply with the relevant regulations. In case of multi-service digital platforms providing social network services and a general website, these two types of business activities must be classified into separate categories in adherence to the principle of retaining from intermingling contents.
Internal websites and websites providing specialized services must meet the above-mentioned conditions for providing domestic social network services if wishing to provide social network services.
Responsibilities of domestic social network service providers
(i) To not post or allow users (including their own staff) to produce contents in the form of reports, investigations, press interviews and post them on social networks;
(ii) To check, monitor and remove information and services in violation of law no later than 24 hours from the time of detecting the violation;
(iii) To implement measures to prevent and remove information and services in violation of law no later than 24 hours after receiving a request by phone, in writing or via electronic means from the Competent Authority;
(iv) To temporarily block accounts, community pages, community groups and content channels that regularly post illegal contents (within 30 days, there are at least five times of providing illegal content or within 90 days, there are at least 10 times of providing illegal content that the MOIC and MOPS request to block or remove) within 24 hours after receiving a request by phone, in writing or via electronic means from the Competent Authority or upon self-discovery of the violation. The temporary block period ranges from seven days to 30 days, depending on the severity and number of violations;
(v) To permanently block social media accounts, community pages, community groups and content channels that post contents that infringe upon the national security or that have been temporarily blocked for three or more times upon requests received by phone, in writing or via electronic means from the Competent Authority;
(vi) To block and remove contents, services and applications in violation of law within 48 hours after receiving complaints from service users in Vietnam about violating contents specified in Article 8 of the Law on Cyber Security;
(vii) To have at least one server system located in Vietnam for inspection, examination, storage and provision of information upon requests of the Competent Authority, and to resolve complaints from users regarding the service provision in accordance with law; and
(viii) To be connected to the MOIC’s monitoring system for the purpose of making statistics on and monitoring the number of service users and accesses.
The new Decree clearly stipulates that in case a social network service provider fails to handle illegal content or services or fails to temporarily or permanently block illegal accounts upon requests, the MOIC will suspend its social network service provision or revoke the granted license/confirmation of notification of provision of social network services.
Online games
Classification of online games
In addition to online games intended only for players aged 18 years or older, those for players aged 12 years or older, and those for players of all ages as specified in Decree 72, Decree 174 adds online games intended only for players aged 16 years or older (symbolized as 16+).
Management of online games
The new Decree stipulates that, in order to provide online gaming services to players in Vietnam (including cross-border service provision), foreign entities and individuals must establish an enterprise in accordance with Vietnamese law for service provision.
Licensing online games
As per the new Decree, businesses may only release G1 online games when they obtain a license to provide G1 online gaming service and a decision to release G1 online game (previously under Decree 72, it was a decision to approve scripts for each electronic game) issued by the ABEI; and businesses may only release G2, G3 or G4 online games when they obtain a certificate to provide G2, G3, G4 online gaming service (as per Decree 72, it was a certificate of registration to provide online gaming service) and a confirmation of notification of release of G2, G3 or G4 online game (as per Decree 72, service providers only have to notify the service provision for each electronic game).
To be granted a license to provide G1 online gaming services, the new Decree requires for the first time that service providers must have a technical equipment system to ensure storage and full update of player information in Vietnam, including his/her full name, date of birth and mobile phone number in Vietnam; verify player accounts using mobile phone numbers in Vietnam, ensuring that only verified accounts can participate in the game. In case of a player aged under 16 years, his/her parent or guardian under the civil law is required to register the account using the latter’s information, and take measures to manage player account content and information to ensure full storage, continuous and accurate updates of information about the player’s service usage, including account name, service usage time, information related to the player ownership of virtual items, virtual units, and reward points.
After being granted a decision to release a G1 online game, a business will have to attach the granted code to the game description content on the application store (if any) and the game-providing website. The code is linked to the licensing data section on the DOIC’s portal.
To be granted a certificate to provide G2, G3 or G4 online gaming services, it is required under the new Decree for the first time that a service providers must have a technical equipment system to ensure storage and full update of information of players in Vietnam as regulated for G1 online gaming services; have a technical equipment system to facilitate the management of playing time per day (from 00:00 to 24:00) of players aged under 18 years, not exceeding 60 minutes for each game but not exceeding 180 minutes per day for all games reserved for players aged under 18 years as provided by the business; have a technical equipment system to ensure continuous display of results of game classification by age for all games provided by the business when introducing and advertising the games and when providing online gaming services; have warnings that say “playing more than 180 minutes a day will have a negative impact on health” in an easily recognizable spot on the electronic game forum (if any) and on the player’s device screen every 30 minutes during the playing time; have a technical equipment system for the management of contents exchanged and shared on the electronic game forum (if any); take measures to manage contents and player account information to ensure full storage, continuous and accurate updating of information about the player’s service usage process, including account name, service usage time, information related to the player ownership of virtual items, virtual units, and reward points; have a plan to ensure cyber information security, information security, service quality and lawful rights of players; and have a backup plan for equipment and connections, and a data backup plan to ensure system safety upon occurrence of an incident.
Provision of information content services on mobile telecommunications networks
Definition of provision of information content services on mobile telecommunications networks
The new Decree defines for the first time provision of information content services on a mobile telecommunications network as the establishment of an equipment system in Vietnam by an organization or enterprise to connect to the mobile telecommunications network to provide information content to mobile telecommunications service users in association with messaging services, voice services (high-priced call services, free call services, information answering services) and Internet access services on mobile telecommunications networks.
Managing provision of information content services on mobile telecommunications networks
For information content services on mobile telecommunications networks (except free call services, high-priced call services) that make payments from mobile SIM accounts for mobile telecommunications services, information content services on mobile telecommunications networks, service providers must have a certificate of registration for connection to provide information content services on mobile telecommunications networks, and such a certificate may only be granted to an organization or business established under Vietnam’s laws with functions and tasks or the registered business line of providing information content services on mobile telecommunications networks that have been posted on the National Business Registration Portal.
For information content services provided to mobile telecommunications service users associated with Internet access services on mobile telecommunications networks, service providers must obtain a license, certificate or specialized confirmation issued by the MOIC or DOIC.-
