Looking back at the content of Government Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP dated November 14, 2013, detailing some provisions of the Law on Advertising, it has basic regulations governing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, but it does not specifically regulate the responsibilities of the parties involved in providing the service, especially regarding the censorship of advertising content before publication and the fulfillment of tax obligations.
At the same time, there is currently an overlap and lack of clarity in the assignment of responsibilities for state management of cross-border advertising between the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Therefore, the Ministry of Information and Communications took the lead in drafting and soliciting feedback from businesses, experts, and the public to amend and supplement several articles of this Decree.
The draft proposes amending and supplementing the title of Chapter 3 of the above decree as follows: "Cross-border advertising service business activities in Vietnam".
This includes amendments and additions to Article 13 of that chapter, which stipulates the rights and obligations of organizations and individuals participating in providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam.
Specifically:
Foreign organizations and individuals providing cross-border advertising services on the internet that generate revenue in Vietnam (through websites, social networks, and applications accessed from or used by people in Vietnam) must comply with Vietnamese laws and regulations on advertising, management, provision, and use of internet services and online information; and must pay taxes.
Businesses must proactively review and inspect advertising products to ensure they do not violate the Advertising Law and do not place advertising products in locations with content that violates the Cybersecurity Law. Foreign organizations and individuals providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam must also block, remove, and process infringing information as requested by the Ministry of Information and Communications and other competent authorities.
- Advertising service providers: They must comply with regulations regarding tax payment.
At the same time, when executing advertising service contracts on platforms of foreign organizations and individuals conducting cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, they are also responsible for checking the content of advertising products and requiring the organization or individual providing cross-border advertising services to select advertising placement locations that do not violate the provisions of the Cybersecurity Law.
- Advertising distributors in Vietnam: It is necessary to ensure the ability to control, detect, and remove products from cross-border advertising services that violate legal regulations. Do not publish or broadcast advertising products from organizations or individuals providing cross-border advertising services that have been notified in writing by competent authorities as violating Vietnamese law.
- Advertiser: Do not post or broadcast advertisements on advertising platforms that violate Vietnamese law, and be responsible for the advertising products when directly signing advertising contracts with foreign organizations or individuals providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam.
Foreign advertising service businesses and organizations/individuals providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam. Submit a regular 12-month report on December 15th, or an ad hoc report as requested. Regarding cross-border advertising service provision activities in Vietnam, reports must be submitted to the Ministry of Information and Communications (Department of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information) using the prescribed form or as an ad hoc report as requested by the competent state management agency on advertising activities on cross-border advertising service platforms.
The Ministry of Information and Communications stated that online advertising accounts for a significant proportion of total advertising investment in Vietnam. Of these, the two main platforms most frequently chosen by organizations, businesses, and individuals for online advertising are Google and Facebook, which provide cross-border advertising services and account for approximately 70% of the online advertising market revenue.
