ECOVIS Focus Hong Kong

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

25.05.2023

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

Treading a Fine Line: 2024 Budget Australia

23.05.2023

What does the recently announced federal budget mean for Australians? ECOVIS Clark Jacobs in Australia examines the key measures.

On Tuesday May 9th, the Australian Government handed down the 2023/2024 budget. At the headline level the budget confirmed that for 2022/2023 Australia actually ran a surplus for the first time in 15 years due to high commodity prices driving up taxation revenue. However, this once off surplus is not projected to continue, with persistent deficits being forecast over the next five years.

Real gross domestic product (GDP) growth for 2023/2024 is forecast to be a paltry 1.5%, while inflation is expected to moderate from the current 7% down to around 3.25%. Unemployment is expected to tick up slightly to 4.25%, while wages growth of around 4% is forecast.

On the taxation side of the budget, the Government tinkered around the edges to raise some additional, uncontroversial revenue. Measures included:

• Increasing the taxation rate for superannuation balances of $3 million or more from 15% to 30%. This will impact 80,000 of the 23 million superannuation accounts in Australia and raise $2.3 billion per year.
• Amending the petroleum resource rent tax to raise $33.8 billion over 4 years.
• Legislating the global minimum 15% corporate tax rate in Australia.
• Increasing tobacco taxes by 5% per year for the next 3 years.

Overall, the Government has tried to offend no-one, bank the savings of the revenue windfall received while trying not to add to inflation or pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates.

Scott Hogan-Smith, Partner, ECOVIS Clark Jacobs, Sydney, Australia

Also confirmed was the cessation of the low and middle income tax offset. This means from 1 July 2023, all qualifying individuals will no longer receive the $675 to $1,500 tax offset when lodging their tax return, saving the government $4.1 billion over 5 years.

On the spending side, the Government’s $14.6 billion cost of living package targeting energy bills, rental assistance and increased social security spending, plus spending more on health and aged care, including a substantial rise in pay for government-funded aged care workers. Also established is the Housing Australia Future Fund, which will be a $10 billion fund established to build new social and affordable housing, along with $2 billion of funding to support the production and export of green hydrogen.

Overall, the Government has tried to offend no-one, bank the savings of the revenue windfall received while trying not to add to inflation or pressure on the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates. It’s a fine line to walk but has also left some significant questions, especially about dealing with the budget’s structural deficit, without an answer.

Personal Data Protection Vietnam: New Decree to Come into Full Force in July

22.05.2023

Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on personal data protection (PDPD) was issued on 17 April 2023. It comes into full force on 1 July 2023. From then on, all companies will have to comply with the regulations. However, the government has given SMEs a two-year deadline to implement some of the regulations. The Ecovis experts explain the details and their impact on companies.

Important PDPD regulations

Personal data is defined as any information associated with a particular person, not just information that helps identify a person. There are two types of personal data: basic personal data (such as name, date of birth, nationality, phone number, email, ID, or personal pictures) and sensitive personal data (such as political opinion, religion, sexual preference, or location data).

The PDPD also introduces the concepts of “data controller”, “data processor”, and “third party”, as well as a new, unprecedented concept of “party controlling and processing personal data”.

The key legal basis for personal data processing is still consent, but it must be clear, affirmative consent that can be printed out or reproduced in writing.

f you need further explanations about the PDPD and would like to know what consequences it has for your company, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Vu Manh Quynh, Managing Partner, ECOVIS Vietnam OC Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

In addition, for the cross-border transfer of personal data out of Vietnam, the party transferring the data abroad must prepare a dossier to assess the impact of the transfer. After the successful data transfer, the party transferring the data abroad will also need to notify the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05).

The PDPD will come into full force on 1 July 2023, and there will be no general exemptions to its application except for SMEs, who will be given a 2-year grace period for the specific obligation of appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO).

While it remains unclear how strictly the authorities will enforce the PDPD regulations during this initial transition period, businesses should not ignore their obligations under the decree and may need to start preparing for compliance plans.

For further information please contact:

Vu Manh Quynh, Managing Partner, ECOVIS Vietnam OC Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Email: quynh.vu@ecovislaw.vn

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