Vietnam To Conduct First PDPD Compliance Investigation

Last year, the government of Vietnam issued the Personal Data Protection Decree (PDPD), which took effect on July 1, 2023. The Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (referred to as "A05") under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is tasked with implementing and enforcing the requirements under the PDPD. While a decree on sanctioning provisions for noncompliance with the PDPD is still pending issuance, further movements from the MPS/A05 indicate that it aims to start conducting its first inspections into PDPD compliance.

This is the first time that companies and government agencies have been officially questioned by the MPS about their compliance with the PDPD. The purposes of this inspection program are (1) to evaluate the compliance status of a group of selected companies and government agencies and to understand challenges in complying with the PDPD requirements; (2) to propose sanctions for noncompliance; and (3) to collect