Other BriefingsHow Cross-Border Data and IP Disputes Impact Vietnam’s Digital Transformation
Technology disputes in Asia, from data-transfer conflicts and AI-governance gaps to IP and e-commerce liability, are influencing the mechanics of Vietnam’s digital economy. Vietnam's new Data, Digital Technology, and Digital Transition laws, court reforms, and fintech sandbox rules are revamping how arbitration and compliance are done in high-risk sectors.
Vietnam’s digital economy has entered a decisive phase, as it aims for the sector to contribute between 30 and 35 percent of GDP by 2030.
As digital trade, data-driven finance, and cloud infrastructure are fueling the rise, understanding and managing technology disputes in Asia has become essential for sustaining investor confidence and maintaining the trust ecosystems that underpin present digital growth.
Cross-border data flow and regional legal fragmentation
A fragmented Asian data landscape
Asian economies have varying data-governance frameworks, which differ substantially in transfer rules and enforcement models. Vietnam operates within this fragmented environment. Its data-protection system is based on three overlapping instruments:
- Personal Data Protection Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP, effective July 2023, requires transfer impact assessments for outbound personal-data flows and submit them to the Ministry of Public Security within 60 day;
- Law on Data No. 60/2024/QH15, effective July 2025, introduced “important data” and “core data” categories with cross-border restrictions based on national security concerns; and
- Personal Data Protection Law No. 91/2025/QH15, effective January 2026, added revenue-based fines of up to 5 percent for transfer breaches.
Unlike data protection frameworks in other jurisdictions that rely on independent privacy authorities, Vietnam entrusts enforcement to its security authority, the Ministry of Public Security.
Diverging standards across Asia
Asia's privacy laws are maturing, but they differ a lot, creating uncertainties and space for potential disputes. Regional variation in digital regulations makes it challenging to comply, for instance:
- Malaysia amended its Personal Data Protection Act in 2024;
- Japan is reforming its Act on Protection of Personal Information to address biometrics and children’s data;
- Indonesia and India implemented new data-localization and penalty regimes; and
- Australia advanced over 166 amendments to its Privacy Act.
Vietnamese digital service providers then need to navigate data localization requirements in various markets. When a Vietnamese fintech firm processes payment for customers across ASEAN, it must simultaneously comply with Vietnam's TIA requirements, Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act standards, Indonesia's data localization rules, and Thailand's emerging Personal Data Protection Act, each with different documents and consent requirements.
Dispute risk in Vietnam’s digital growth
Vietnam’s e-commerce and fintech sectors rely on uninterrupted cross-border data movement. The e-commerce market reached US$24.9 billion in 2024, growing 20 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, its fintech market was valued at US$16.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$62.7 billion by 2033.
In this scenario, any dispute from conflicting data governance can disrupt cross-border data flows and risk delays in transactions, payment failures, or reputational harm, all of which can slow digital-economy growth.
Vietnam’s evolving digital-law framework
Digital technology industry law
Vietnam adopted the world’s first Law on Digital Technology Industry (DTI Law) in June 2025, effective January 1, 2026. It classifies artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and digital assets as strategic sectors and introduces:
- Import-duty exemptions for research and development (R&D) equipment;
- Tax incentives and subsidies of up to 50 percent for technology acquisition; and
- Direct financial support through development budgets.
The DTI Law has a risk-based approach to AI regulation. It puts systems into high-risk and non-high-risk groups where high-risk applications are subject to strict compliance and oversight. It requires AI products to be clearly marked, and prohibited uses of AI are also given in the law alongside ethical standards.
The law recognizes virtual and tokenized assets for the first time for digital assets. But its implementation will rely on later decrees, which would carry clearer definitions for licensing and cybersecurity conditions.
Draft law on digital transition
Vietnam is also developing a Draft Law on Digital Transformation, released in August 2025. It defines digital transformation through three core pillars: digital data, digital infrastructure, and digital platforms. The draft has prohibitions on using digital transformation to threaten national security, unauthorized data use, misuse of AI for deception or deepfakes, and unfair competition on digital platforms
Policy uncertainty and dispute potential
Much of the new digital legislation delegates implementation to future decrees and leaves definitions of asset classification, AI-risk criteria, and sandbox procedures pending.
The Law on Data introduced broad criteria for "important data" and "core data" classification, but final regulations are still under development. Ambiguity around these rules increases the potential for interpretation disputes between regulators and businesses.
The draft E-Commerce Law further complicates liability. It obliges platforms to verify seller identities, screen content before publication, and jointly bear responsibilities for damages in case of failure to handle infringements promptly. Without clear standards for “prompt” action or “adequate” verification, foreign platforms may face disputes over enforcement actions. The dispute issue can manifest in investors’ delayed investment decisions, higher risk premiums demanded by them, or hesitation about deploying capital into Vietnam's digital sectors, and thus ultimately undermining the government's goal of attracting 150,000 digital technology enterprises by 2035.
Intellectual property and platform liability risks
Modernizing IP enforcement
Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property (2005, amended 2022) remains the foundation for digital IP protection. Historically, IP enforcement has relied heavily on administrative actions through Market Surveillance forces, Science and Technology inspectors, and other government agencies conducting raids, seizing goods, and imposing fines. Only about a dozen IP civil cases reach courts annually due to procedural delays and inconsistent rulings.
Recognizing these limitations, Vietnam's National Assembly approved in June 2024 the establishment of specialized IP courts at the first-instance level in Hanoi and HCMC, expected to be fully operational by the end of 2025. These courts will have judges trained specifically in IP law and jurisdiction over civil, commercial, administrative, and technology transfer disputes
Platform liability and content moderation dispute
The Draft E-Commerce Law proposes that platforms must jointly compensate for damages if they fail to handle infringements promptly, alongside requirements to verify seller identities and screen content before publication.
Decree 147/2024/ND-CP brought reforms to domain name dispute resolution and better social media user verification requirements.
But ambiguity around what qualifies as a “prompt” response or sufficient verification could result in potential litigation between platforms, vendors, and regulators, especially when takedown timing will affect financial loss.
Infrastructure and data-center investment disputes
Vietnam’s data-center sector expanded from 80 MW in early 2024 to 221 MW by August 2025, in 41 facilities. There are currently 12 major data centers, some of which are Viettel’s planned 140-MW hyperscale site, CMC Telecom’s US$250 million center, and ST Telemedia’s 60-MW facility with VNG.
Such large-scale digital-infrastructure projects can introduce complex dispute risk over construction delays, technology-transfer conflicts, or service-level disagreements with cloud customers. Given the scale of investments, projects ranging from US$250 million to over US$1.5 billion, any disputes over delays, performance standards, or IP in proprietary systems carry a heavy financial burden on Vietnam’s high-stakes digital economy.
Foreign direct investment and investor confidence
Vietnam attracted US$21.51 billion in FDI during H1 2025, a 32.6 percent rise year-on-year, with disbursed capital hitting US$11.72 billion, the highest mid-year level in five years. Several major projects have been lined up to invest in Vietnam, from Sweden's SYRE (US$1 billion circular textiles hub), Trump Organization (US$1.5 billion project in Hung Yen), Yen So Park (US$1.1 billion), to LEGO (US$1.3 billion factory in Binh Duong).
Still, foreign investors assess not only incentives but legal predictability too. A recent study on FDI attraction in the context of digital transformation identified digital infrastructure, skilled digital workforce, regulatory environment, and technology-focused investment as important factors. Disputes over IP enforcement, platform regulation, or data compliance can potentially erode investor trust, especially if resolution mechanisms are perceived as unpredictable or biased.
Consumer trust and digital adoption
Trust remains a fundamental determinant of technology uptake in Vietnam. Research shows trust ranked as the second-strongest factor influencing mobile-banking adoption.
As per the GSMA Digital Summit 2025, 89 percent of consumers fear account hacking, and 95 percent fear data misuse, which means trust deficits, if not addressed through effective dispute resolution and consumer protection, can limit the adoption of digital financial services and e-commerce platforms.
Fintech and e-commerce disputes
Fintech sandbox and dispute management
In the fintech sector, Decree No. 94/2025/ND-CP, from July 2025, established a regulatory sandbox for credit scoring, open-API data sharing, and peer-to-peer lending. The maximum two-year testing period allows participants to validate models under relaxed regulatory conditions.
Disputes in fintech commonly revolve around transaction errors, unauthorized access, data breaches, disagreements over contracts between fintech platforms and financial institutions, and regulatory conflicts. It can be fixed with accessible dispute resolution processes, whether through internal complaint mechanisms, mediation, or formal arbitration, to maintain user trust.
Without them, a single high-profile dispute that results in customer losses without adequate remedy can lead to market-wide loss of confidence
E-commerce friction points
Vietnam’s e-commerce sector, projected to reach US$63 billion by 2030, faces persistent dispute exposure. 69 percent of experts note that VAT withholding rules and small-seller compliance remain major pain points in Vietnam’s e-commerce growth. Disputes here could range from account suspensions to IP infringement and refund delays.
The draft law’s joint-liability clause and mandatory seller verification could raise new risks for e-commerce platforms. Therefore, effective internal dispute channels and predictable arbitration clauses in e-commerce laws are necessary to avoid reputational fallout, which could deter future consumer participation.
Litigation and arbitration capacity
Most business disputes in Vietnam still go through the courts. In 2023, only about 300 cases were settled by mediation or arbitration, much below global averages, where 90 percent of disputes are resolved outside court.
Vietnam’s Commercial Arbitration Law offers the advantages of strong confidentiality and finality clauses under the New York Convention, and the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) handles hundreds of cases successfully every year under this law.
On the other hand, between 2020 and 2023, roughly 20 percent of applications to annul already decided arbitral awards succeeded, mainly due to procedural errors like failing to properly verify power of attorney documents or accepting cases without proper jurisdiction.
High annulment rate in already decided cases could signal to foreign investors that arbitration in Vietnam may not provide the certainty and efficiency expected.
Outlook for Vietnam’s digital dispute picture
Vietnam faces choices about how to approach digital competition regulation. How disputes over anti-competitive conduct are resolved in neighboring markets, and whether outcomes favor innovation or established players, will inform Vietnam's future strategy.
Vietnam sits at the intersection of experiments in digital dispute regulations in the Asia-Pacific region. Vietnam can use this opportunity to draw lessons from the mistakes and successes of its neighbors. China’s experience in handling high-profile cases like Alibaba and Tencent can serve as an example to balance enforcement effectiveness with overreach risks. Disputes in Singapore in licensing requirements and anti-money laundering compliance are good case studies on how to frame digital asset regulation to balance innovation with mitigating risks.
Vietnam’s ongoing reforms, along with its strategic advantage in presenting itself as a stable and agile jurisdiction for digital investments, can serve well to quell any investor apprehensions.
Also read: Green Incentives and Preferable Policies in Vietnam: An Overview for Investors
This article first appeared on Vietnam Briefing, our sister platform.
