In June 2018, the Vietnamese government issued Law No. 24/2018/QH14 on Cybersecurity. Art. 26 requires that foreign providers of Internet services, telecom services and value-added services to open representative offices or branches in Vietnam. According to the Law, personal information of Vietnamese users or users within Vietnam must be stored domestically. In addition, Art. 25 of the Law states that Gateway Internet Connection operators are encouraged to establish in the territory of Vietnam. It is reported that the government will decide the duration for which such businesses must store users’ data in the Vietnamese territory, but it is currently unclear which criteria will be used. The concept of "telecom services" and "Internet services" are not yet defined.

Vietnam does not have an independent telecom authority. The Authority of Telecommunications is a ministerial unit which performs the advisory and regulatory functions over the telecommunications sectors in nationwide.

Arts. 19-21 of Decree No.25/2011/ND-CP outline the requirements for enterprises applying for a license in the telecom sector in Vietnam. These requirements vary across types of service and geographical coverage. They include minimum capital requirements from 5 VND Billion to 3,000 VND Billion and investment plans, among other requirements.

Vietnam has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP details and guides on the implementation of a number of articles of the Telecommunications Law. According to the Decree, the Ministry of Information and Communications is to regulate the framework for the price of telecommunication services. In 2019, Vietnammobile, a small mobile network company claimed that the price floor scheme in Decree No. 25/2011 was a restriction, created a burden for small enterprises and decreased competition in the sector, especially when three dominant firms cooperated and raised the price. The Ministry of Information and Communications is reported to propose to the government on the lift of such regulation. However, such deregulation is still in process.

While any Vietnamese firm can operate as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), only state-owned companies are allowed to operate as Online Service Providers or Internet Exchange Providers. Art. 11 of Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP regulates Vietnam National Internet Exchange (VNIX), under the Ministry of Information and Communications, as the only Internet Exchange Point to be authorised.

It is reported that there is no requirement for functional or accounting separation required for operators with significant market power.

Art. 3 of Decree No. 25/2011/ND-CP regulates that an organization or individual that owns more than 20% of shares in a telecommunications enterprise may not own more than 20% of the charter capital or shares of another telecommunications enterprise doing business in the same market.

There is dominance of three big corporations in telecommunication markets of Vietnam which are VNPT, Viettel and Mobifone. All these three corporations are owned or partially owned by the government, and dominate more than 96% of the market.

According to Art. 18.3 of Law No. 41/2009/QH12 on telecommunications of Vietnam regulates foreign investment in telecommunications. In addition to the basic licenses required by telecommunications legislation, foreign investors who intend to provide telecommunications networks and services must first obtain an investment certificate issued by the licensing authorities. If the project is not covered by a plan approved by the Prime Minister, the licensing authority must seek opinions on the project from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and any other relevant organization. They must then request that the Prime Minister render a decision on the investment policy, adjust the national plan, or open the investment market further to foreign investment.

Art. 17 of the Law on Telecommunications regulates that the State holds dominant shares (51%) in telecommunication service of which infrastructure is particularly important to the operation of the entire national telecommunications infrastructure. Therefore, foreign investors can only own 49% of shares in government-controlled firms.

According to the Law on Telecommunications, infrastructure sharing is mandated. It is reported that passive sharing is effective in both the mobile and fixed sectors.

Law No. 50/2005/QH11 and Decree 54/2000/ND-CP provide a framework for effective protection of trade secrets. The law defines trade secrets as information obtained from activities of financial or intellectual investment, which has not yet been disclosed and which is able to be used in business. A trade secret is eligible for protection when it meets certain criteria: it is not commonly known or easily accessible, it provides advantages to its holder in business activities, and its owner takes necessary measures to maintain its secrecy. The Intellectual Property Law identifies actions that infringe on trade secret rights, such as unauthorized access or disclosure of trade secret information, and breaching security contracts. However, there are limitations to trade secret rights, including instances where the trade secret was unknowingly acquired illegally, disclosure is necessary to protect the public, or the use is non-commercial or independent creation.

Vietnam has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Vietnam has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.