Art. 9 of the Law on Cybersecurity provides that national security information systems must undergo cybersecurity appraisal and certification of compliance prior to their deployment and operation, be subject to periodic inspection and continuous cybersecurity supervision during use, and ensure the prompt detection, response to, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. Such systems are defined as those information systems of strategic and particular importance in the fields of politics, national defence, security, diplomacy, the economy, and broader social activities, where cybersecurity incidents or legal breaches may adversely affect national security or seriously disrupt social order and public safety, and which are included in a list promulgated by the Prime Minister of Vietnam. These encompass, inter alia, systems relating to military, security, diplomatic, and cryptographic functions; systems for the storage and processing of state secrets; systems preserving artefacts and documents of exceptional importance; systems safeguarding hazardous materials; systems supporting the preservation, manufacture, and management of critical infrastructure associated with national security; key systems serving central governmental bodies and organisations; national information systems in sectors such as energy, finance, banking, telecommunications, transport, agriculture, natural resources and the environment, chemicals, healthcare, and culture; and automated control and monitoring systems at critical works and national security sites. Furthermore, Art. 15.4.b assigns to the Ministry of Public Security responsibility for conducting cybersecurity inspections of equipment, products, telecommunications services, and digital and electronic devices prior to their deployment within such national security information systems. Similar requirements were also contained in the previous Law on Cybersecurity.

Art. 36 of Law No. 86/2015/QH13 states that the responsibilities of users of cryptographic products and services include providing the necessary information on cryptographic keys to the competent state authorities upon request. The Law also introduces licensing requirements for tools that offer encryption as a primary function.

Sections 35 and 60 of Decree No. 52/2013/ND-CP provide that certain E-commerce services need to be licensed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade: E-commerce websites that permit participants to sell and purchase goods according to the method of goods exchange; evaluation and certification of personal data protection policies of traders, organisations and individuals participating in e-commerce activities; and certification of e-contracts.
In addition, Art. 44 states that traders and organisations providing online auction services must register the provision of auction services, and under Art. 52, traders, organisations or individuals may set up sales e-commerce websites if, among other conditions, they have notified the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Also, pursuant to the provisions of Art. 61, one of the conditions for conducting credit rating of e-commerce websites is being a trader or an organisation established under Vietnamese law.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) issued Circular No.59/2015/TT-BCT to regulate the management of e-commerce activities via mobile applications. The circular strictly regulates the operation of e-commerce on mobile applications, which requires registration to MOIT. The circular applies to all Vietnamese individuals and organisations, foreigners who reside in Vietnam, and foreigners and organisations who have a presence in Vietnam through investment, setting up branches, or representative offices.

It is reported that Vietnam prohibits the commercial importation of some products, including encryption devices and encryption software.

In November 2013, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP, implementing the Commercial Law on international trade in goods and the activities of international agents involved in buying, selling, outsourcing, and transiting goods. The Decree outlined products that were either banned from importation or required an import licence, assigning regulatory oversight to specific entities. Annex 1 of the Decree identified goods banned from import, including:
(i) Used electronic products, regulated by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT);
(ii) Used IT products, regulated by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC);
(iii) Specific radio equipment and radio wave-applied devices, also regulated by MIC.
To facilitate the implementation of this Decree, MOIT issued Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BCT in January 2014, which provided additional details and a more specific list of used products prohibited from import. Annexe 1 of the Circular included:
(i) Personal laptops (HS 8471);
(ii) Cellphones (HS 8517);
(iii) Digital cameras (HS 8525);
(iv) Video game consoles and machines (HS 9504).
In May 2018, the Government introduced Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP, which replaced Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP and reallocated the list of import licensing requirements to Annex 3. Subsequently, on 15 June 2018, MOIT replaced Circular No. 04/2014/TT-BCT with Circular No. 12/2018/TT-BCT, though the list of banned electronic products remained unchanged.

Art. 25.2.a of the Law on Cybersecurity stipulates that both domestic and foreign enterprises providing services on telecommunications networks, the Internet, and other value‑added services in cyberspace within Vietnam are under an obligation to supply user information to the specialised cybersecurity protection forces under the Ministry of Public Security within 24 hours of receiving a request, which may be made in written form, by email, by telephone, or through any other verified means of communication, for the purposes of verification, investigation, and the handling of cybersecurity law violations; in circumstances involving an emergency that threatens national security or human life, such information must be provided within three hours. The provision does not expressly indicate whether compliance with such requests is contingent upon the prior issuance of a court order, and a broadly comparable requirement was previously set out in Art. 26.2.a of the earlier Law on Cybersecurity.

Art. 17.1.c of the Law on Cyber Information Security No. 86/2015/QH13 requires technology companies to share user data at the request of competent state agencies. It also mandates that authorities be given decryption keys on request, and it introduces licensing requirements for tools that offer encryption as a primary function. There is no mention of a requirement for a court order.

Decree No. 17/2023/ND-CP establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to the Decree, to benefit from this safe harbour, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) must act promptly to remove or block content upon acquiring "knowledge" of copyright infringement. While Decree No. 17 does not define "knowledge," it considers takedown notices from authorities or rights holders as evidence of ISPs' "knowledge" without specifying whether such notices must be substantiated (Arts. 113.3 and 114.5).
Additionally, Decree No. 17 outlines the required information and documents for takedown notices and counter-responses, indicating that ISPs must take appropriate action—such as removal, blocking, or restoration—upon receipt of the complete set of required information and documents (Art. 111.4).

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Vietnam's law and jurisprudence.

Art. 25.2.a of the Law on Cybersecurity stipulates that domestic and foreign enterprises providing services on telecommunications networks, the Internet, and value‑added services in cyberspace in Vietnam are required to verify user information at the time of registration of digital accounts. Under Art. 2.19, a “digital account” is defined as information employed for the purposes of authentication, verification, and authorisation in relation to the use of applications and services in cyberspace. A comparable obligation is also provided for in Art. 26.2.a of the previous Law on Cybersecurity.

Art. 23.3.e of Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP provides that only foreign organisations, enterprises, and individuals engaged in the provision of cross-border information services to entities in Vietnam, either through the leasing of data storage services within Vietnam or by attaining a total of 100,000 or more regular monthly visits from Vietnam, calculated as an average over six consecutive months, are subject to specific obligations, namely that they must verify user accounts using Vietnamese telephone numbers. Foreign providers of social networking services may alternatively verify accounts through personal identification numbers, where users declare, in accordance with the law on electronic identification and authentication, that they do not possess a Vietnamese telephone number. Such providers are further required to verify accounts through personal identification numbers where users employ livestream features for commercial purposes under the same legal framework; and, in all cases, only duly verified accounts are permitted to post content, including articles, comments, and livestream sessions, or otherwise share information on social networking platforms.

Pursuant to Art. 15.1 of Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP, individuals subscribing to telecommunications services are required to provide telecommunication enterprises with specific information. This includes the subscriber's full name, date of birth, and, for Vietnamese citizens, the identity card number, along with the date and place of issuance. For foreign citizens, passport details must be provided.

Art. 14 of the Law on Cybersecurity provides that administrators of information systems, defined in Art. 2.8 as agencies, organisations, or individuals with direct management authority over an information system, together with domestic and foreign enterprises offering services on telecommunications networks, the Internet, and value added services in cyberspace, are required to implement managerial and technical measures to prevent, detect, block, and remove information containing the forms of content specified in Art. 13, whether on systems under their control or upon the request of specialised cybersecurity protection authorities; such content includes material propagandising against the State, inciting unrest, undermining security, or disrupting public order, as well as content that seeks to sabotage policies on national unity and socio economic development, or that infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of organisations and individuals.

Art. 79.2 of Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP stipulates that telecommunications enterprises providing Internet services, as well as Internet service providers, are required to implement measures to monitor, collect, and identify information that contravenes the law within their technical infrastructures and applications. Such measures must be undertaken in accordance with the guidance and directives issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam. In relation to infringements of copyright and intellectual property, these obligations must be fulfilled in compliance with the Law on Intellectual Property and other relevant legal provisions.