Vietnam AI Regulation Overview

Overview

Vietnam's regulatory approach to artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from strategic policy frameworks and voluntary guidelines into a binding statutory governance regime. The foundation was initially established through the National Strategy on Research, Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence to 2030 (Decision No. 127/QĐ-TTg) in 2021 and Politburo Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW in 2024, which declared science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation to be the primary drivers of national socio-economic growth. In 2024, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued Decision No. 1290/QĐ-BKHCN, introducing Vietnam's first comprehensive voluntary ethical framework for responsible AI.

In 2025, Vietnam enacted primary standalone legislation to govern digital technology and AI systems. The National Assembly adopted the Law on Digital Technology Industry (Law No. 71/2025/QH15), effective January 1, 2026, and the Law on Artificial Intelligence (Law No. 134/2025/QH15), passed on December 10, 2025, and taking effect on March 1, 2026. Complementing these national statutory measures, major municipal jurisdictions—such as Da Nang and Hanoi—have established targeted smart city action plans to deploy AI in public administration, urban infrastructure, and regulatory sandboxes.

Regulatory Approach

Vietnam employs a hybrid regulatory approach that combines top-down strategic planning, voluntary ethical standards, horizontal binding statutes, and sector-specific municipal implementation. At the statutory level, the Law on Artificial Intelligence (Law No. 134/2025/QH15) adopts a human-centered, risk-based framework that classifies AI systems into high-risk, medium-risk, and low-risk tiers. Stricter obligations—such as pre-market risk and conformity assessments, mandatory registration, labeling requirements, and human oversight—are focused on high-risk AI applications rather than intervening directly in underlying models.

To preserve technical flexibility and foster commercial innovation, Vietnam's binding laws are complemented by non-binding ethical guidance. Decision No. 1290/QĐ-BKHCN outlines nine core principles for responsible AI development across the system lifecycle. Notably, national security and defense activities are carved out from statutory AI governance: both the Law on Digital Technology Industry and the Law on Artificial Intelligence explicitly exempt AI activities conducted exclusively for national defense, state security, and essential intelligence operations.

Key AI Legislation

• Law on Artificial Intelligence (Law No. 134/2025/QH15): Vietnam's primary standalone statutory act governing the research, development, provision, deployment, and use of AI systems; establishes a risk-based classification system, pre-market conformity requirements, and human oversight rules for high-risk AI.
• Law on Digital Technology Industry (Law No. 71/2025/QH15): Comprehensive legislation covering digital technology production, semiconductor manufacturing, AI systems, digital assets, and concentrated digital technology zones.
• Decision No. 127/QĐ-TTg (National AI Strategy to 2030): Prime Ministerial decree establishing national ranking goals, high-performance computing infrastructure targets, and open dataset requirements.
• Decision No. 1290/QĐ-BKHCN (Responsible AI Principles): Voluntary guidance document establishing nine fundamental principles for ethical AI research, design, and deployment.
• Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW: Politburo resolution designating science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation as top strategic breakthroughs, implemented via Government Action Program (Nghị quyết 03/NQ-CP).
• Cybersecurity Law (Law No. 24/2018/QH14): Foundational cybersecurity act accompanied by Decree 53/2022/ND-CP and Decree 13/2023/ND-CP, establishing data localization and personal data protection standards for online services and digital systems.
• Municipal Smart City Plans: Regional frameworks including the Da Nang Smart City AI Initiative and the Hanoi Smart City Development Action Plan to 2030 (Plan No. 243/KH-UBND).

Governance & Enforcement Bodies

State administration of AI activities in Vietnam is centralized under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), which serves as the primary coordinating agency for national AI policy, implementation, technical standards, and subordinate legislation under the Law on Artificial Intelligence and Law on Digital Technology Industry. MOST is supported by sector-specific authorities, including the Ministry of Finance (MOF), which is assigned responsibility for digital asset regulation, tax treatment, and incentive schemes.

High-level strategic steering across Party and State bodies is provided by the Central Steering Committee on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation established under Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW, alongside a National Advisory Council. Enforcement of data security, personal data protection, and cyberspace oversight is led by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) under the Cybersecurity Law and Decree 13/2023/ND-CP. At the municipal level, implementation is managed by provincial and city People's Committees, such as the Da Nang People's Committee (supported by DOST Da Nang and the Investment Promotion Agency) and the Hanoi People's Committee.

Penalties & Enforcement

Under the Law on Digital Technology Industry and the Law on Artificial Intelligence, state oversight mechanisms include market surveillance, compliance inspections, audits, administrative fines, operational suspensions, and mandatory system adjustments for non-compliant AI applications or severe system incidents. Where statutory thresholds for serious violations are met, administrative proceedings may be escalated to criminal referral under Vietnamese law.

Specific administrative fine amounts and penalty schedules are to be detailed in subordinate decrees and circulars issued by competent government ministries following statutory enactment. For non-binding standards, such as the Responsible AI Principles set forth in Decision No. 1290/QĐ-BKHCN, no administrative body enforces compliance or imposes formal sanctions; adherence remains voluntary, though organizations remain subject to underlying binding laws.

Data Protection Framework

Data governance and protection requirements for digital systems processing Vietnamese data are established under the Cybersecurity Law (Law No. 24/2018/QH14) and its implementing instruments, including Decree 53/2022/ND-CP and Decree 13/2023/ND-CP on Personal Data Protection. The framework is further complemented by Law No. 60/2024/QH15 on Data, scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2025, which introduces regulatory classifications for digital data, important data, and core data.

A central feature of Vietnam's data protection regime is the data localization requirement under Article 26.3 of the Cybersecurity Law. Domestic and foreign service providers offering specified online services must store certain user data categories—including personal data of Vietnamese service users—locally in Vietnam for a minimum duration of 24 months upon receiving a formal request from competent state authorities. These security and personal data handling rules apply directly to AI models and platforms processing user data within Vietnamese jurisdiction.

Sector-Specific Rules

Vietnam's statutory AI framework mandates specific controls for high-risk sector applications. Under the Law on Artificial Intelligence (Law No. 134/2025/QH15), AI deployment in sectors such as healthcare, education, banking, employment, and biometric identification is classified as high risk, triggering requirements for pre-market conformity assessments, mandatory registry listings, labeling rules, and continuous human oversight mechanisms.

Sectoral and municipal operational rules are also integrated into smart city action plans. Hanoi's Plan No. 243/KH-UBND targets specific application domains, including adaptive traffic signal control systems, intelligent public lighting, smart energy, smart water management, and smart waste processing. Da Nang's Smart City AI Initiative emphasizes AI application across public administration, traffic coordination, air quality and flood tracking, public security, healthcare, tourism, logistics, and semiconductor circuit design.

International Alignment

Vietnam's AI policy frameworks explicitly reference international standards and regional benchmarks. Decision No. 1290/QĐ-BKHCN on Responsible AI Principles was drafted to align with international frameworks, specifically incorporating principles from the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence and UNESCO Recommendations on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

Furthermore, national strategy documents set explicit regional and global metrics to position Vietnam within the international technological landscape. Decision No. 127/QĐ-TTg targets elevating Vietnam into the top 5 ASEAN countries and top 60 globally by 2025, and into the top 4 ASEAN countries and top 50 globally in AI research, development, and application by 2030. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW also mandates active international engagement, technical cooperation, standards alignment, and joint research partnerships.

Future Developments

Vietnam is executing a structured implementation timeline following the passage of its primary AI and digital technology laws. The Law on Digital Technology Industry took effect on January 1, 2026, while the Law on Artificial Intelligence took effect on March 1, 2026. The government timeline anticipates the issuance of guiding decrees and circulars by April 1, 2026, the establishment of designated AI regulatory bodies and committees by July 1, 2026, and the publication of technical standards and guidelines by October 1, 2026, leading to full enforcement and compliance monitoring by October 1, 2027.

Additionally, Law No. 60/2024/QH15 on Data enters into force on July 1, 2025, establishing detailed processing rules for digital, important, and core data. Municipalities including Da Nang and Hanoi are continuously expanding controlled testing environments and regulatory sandboxes for emerging AI models and smart city applications through 2030, aligning local execution with the national vision through 2045.

Enforcement Bodies

Agency	Mandate	Key Powers	Website
Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)	Lead ministry for national AI policy, digital technology industry development, standards, and AI risk governance under Law No. 134/2025/QH15 and Law No. 71/2025/QH15.	Drafting decrees, circulars, and technical standards; supervising controlled testing environments and regulatory sandboxes; managing national AI data and computing infrastructure; conducting compliance audits; issuing administrative fines and operational suspensions.
Ministry of Public Security (MPS)	Primary authority for cybersecurity enforcement, personal data protection, and critical information infrastructure protection under the Cybersecurity Law and Decree 13/2023/ND-CP.	Monitoring cybersecurity compliance, inspecting information systems, auditing data localization compliance, requesting data storage, investigating cyber incidents, and enforcing security obligations on service providers.
Ministry of Finance (MOF)	State authority assigned specific responsibilities for digital asset governance and fiscal incentives under the Law on Digital Technology Industry.	Drafting rules for digital asset management, classification, registration, and administering tax and incentive treatment for digital technology enterprises.
Da Nang People's Committee / DOST Da Nang	Local administrative and state management authorities directing the Da Nang Smart City AI Initiative and regional AI/semiconductor development.	Overseeing municipal AI implementation, managing state-funded technology tasks, administering local regulatory sandboxes, establishing open data portals, and executing strategic high-tech partnerships.
Hanoi People's Committee	Municipal executive authority responsible for issuing and overseeing Plan No. 243/KH-UBND for Hanoi's smart city transformation to 2030.	Managing municipal urban data platforms, overseeing smart city service deployments, establishing local regulatory sandboxes for AI testing, and setting local administrative guidelines.