After a prolonged period marked by visible delays in the enforcement of Vietnam privacy regulations under Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP dated 17 April 2023 (“Decree 13”), the Vietnamese National Assembly has officially passed the Law on Personal Data Protection on 26 June 2025, commencing on 1 January 2026 (“Privacy Law”).
This legislative development represents a significant upgrade to Vietnam’s privacy framework, elevating it from a subordinate decree to a full-fledged law with higher legal authority. It reflects the Vietnamese Government’s acknowledgment of:
(i) the growing importance of personal data protection in what it identifies as the “era of data as a new form of capital in production”; and
(ii) the practical challenges of ensuring compliance with data protection obligations in Vietnam.
