On February 9, 2021, Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security
(MPS) released the full text of the Draft Decree on Personal Data
Protection ("Draft PDPD") for public consultation, after
having released an outline in December 2019, with an ambitious goal
for the Draft PDPD to be promulgated and take effect on December 1,
2021. This date has now passed and the Draft PDPD remains unissued,
with no concrete details on when the situation will change.
Because this is a proposed decree not directly subordinate to
any existing law, designed to be quickly issued to tackle the
current situation in personal data protection, the Draft PDPD,
after being approved by the government, would be subject to
additional approval by the Standing Committee of the National
Assembly before it could be promulgated and take effect.