With 451 out of 458 National Assembly (NA) deputies voting in favor (94.15% of the total), the NA passed the Data Law on November 30.

This marks a step towards establishing a data market and promoting national digital transformation.

The approved Data Law comprises five chapters and 46 articles, covering regulations on digital data; the building, development, protection, governance, processing, and use of digital data; the National Data Center; the National Integrated Database; products and services related to digital data; the management of digital data; and the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, and individuals involved in digital data activities.

The new law also specifically defines data exchange platforms. These platforms will provide resources related to data to support research, startup development, and innovation.

They will also provide data-related products and services for socio-economic development and serve as an environment for the transaction and exchange of data and related products and services.

Organizations providing data exchange platform services will be public non-business units or State-owned enterprises that meet the service provision requirements and are licensed to operate.

Data prohibited from trading includes information that could harm national defense, security, foreign affairs, or state secrets, as well as data that has not been consented to by the data subject, unless otherwise stipulated by law.

While some opinions support the establishment of data exchange platforms, they suggest that only fundamental principles should be stipulated in the law, leaving the specifics to be determined by the Government with a roadmap appropriate to the Vietnamese context.