Digital Advertising Vietnam: Regulations on Cross-border and Digital Advertising Services

Decree No. 70/2021/ND-CP (the decree), which came into effect in Vietnam on 15 September 2021, regulates the provision of cross-border and digital advertising services. The aim is to prevent illegal content and misleading or unethical advertising practices by offshore advertising service providers. However, companies are still not complying with the current rules, and they now face penalties. The experts from ECOVIS Vietnam OC Law explain the details of the decree again.

Key takeaways and central points of the decree

• Decree 70 regulates the provision of cross-border and digital advertising services in Vietnam, with a focus on preventing illegal content, and misleading or unethical practices.
• Offshore advertising service providers are required to provide state agencies with certain contact details and take down infringing content upon request.
• There is still inadequate compliance with the regulations, prompting authorities to issue warnings and threaten enforcement actions against non-compliant companies.
• Companies should comply promptly with the applicable advertising requirements to avoid adverse enforcement actions.
• Where adequate compliance is not feasible, an official letter should be sent to authorities to explain the situation.

Detailed Analysis

Under the decree, offshore advertising service providers are required to notify the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) of certain contact details, including the location of servers used to render advertising services. Failure to comply with this requirement could lead to sanctions, including the suspension of services by data centre service providers or ISPs.

In addition, offshore advertising service providers must take down infringing content upon request by state agencies. The MIC has already published a list of 98 websites which showing signs of breaking the law, with which companies are not permitted to cooperate in running advertisements.

We support you in assessing whether advertising content is legal in Vietnam.

Nguyen Nhuan, Partner, ECOVIS Vietnam OC Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Despite the decree and the publication of the list of infringing websites, compliance with the regulations remains inadequate. In a recent conference hosted by the MIC, it was reported that only nine offshore enterprises had notified the agency of their contact details. The head of the MIC’s Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) even explicitly named several tech giants failing to comply with the duty of notification and the agency has expressed its intention to block these companies’ business in Vietnam should they continue to ignore the law.

The Vietnamese authorities have shown a determination to strictly enforce the decree against offshore advertising service providers. Companies should comply promptly with applicable advertising requirements to avoid the risk of adverse enforcement actions. Where adequate compliance is not feasible, it is necessary for companies in the advertising industry to send an official letter seeking formal guidance from competent authorities on any unclear regulations in applicable laws.

For further information please contact:

Nguyen Nhuan, Partner, ECOVIS Vietnam OC Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: nhuan.nguyen@ecovislaw.vn