Vietnam: Adopted Decree No. 70/2021/ND-CP including content moderation regulation

On 20 July 2021, the Vietnamese government adopted decree No. 70/2021/ND-CP, amending several articles of Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP (dated 14 November 2013), aiming to regulate online advertisement in Vietnam. The decree includes that if the Ministry of Information and Communications receives a notification about illegal cross-border advertising, the authority may send requests to the advertising providers to handle the issue. These companies have to comply with the request within 24 hours, otherwise the MIC will take measures to prevent the violation of the law. In case the national security would be affected, the competent authorities can take immediate measures to prevent illegal advertising. Furthermore, domestic advertising service providers with foreign providers of cross-border advertising services shall make annual reports or make an ad-hoc report upon request to the MIC. The decree will be implemented on 15 September 2021.