Decree 70/2021/ND-CP amending Decree 181/2013/ND-CP detailing Law on Advertising

DECREE

Amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP of November 14, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising^[1]

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government; and the November 22, 2019 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on Organization of the Government and the Law on Organization of Local Administration;

Pursuant to the June 21, 2012 Law on Advertising;

Pursuant to the June 12, 2018 Law on Cyber Security;

At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communications;

The Government promulgates the Decree amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP of November 14, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising.

Article 1. To amend and supplement a number of articles of the Government’s Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP of November 14, 2013, detailing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising

1. To amend and supplement Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam

1. Provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam means the use of websites by foreign organizations and individuals to provide advertising services from their device systems located outside Vietnam’s territory to Vietnam-based service users with turnover earned in Vietnam.

2. Website for provision of cross-border advertising services referred to in this Decree means an information system using one or more than one website in the forms of symbols, numbers, characters, images, and sounds, and other forms of information for the purpose of providing network users with services of storing, providing, using, searching and exchanging information, sharing sounds and images, creating forums, and chatting online in order to provide advertising services.

3. Advertising service providers, advertisement publishers and domestic and foreign advertisers engaged in provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam shall abide by Vietnam’s regulations on advertising, cyber security and management, provision and use of Internet services and network information; and pay taxes in accordance with the tax laws.

4. A foreign organization or individual that provides cross-border advertising services in Vietnam shall exercise the rights and perform the obligations specified in Article 13 of the Law on Advertising, and:

a/ Notify the Ministry of Information and Communications of its contact information, including:

The organization’s name, transaction name, head office address where the provision of advertising services is registered; locations of the main server system for service provision and the server system in Vietnam (if any);

Contact information: name, email address and phone number of the organization’s representative in Vietnam (if any);

Form and time of notification: 15 days before commencing the provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, it/he/she shall deliver a notice by hand or send by post or via electronic means to the Ministry of Information and Communications (the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information);

Within 7 working days after receiving the notice, the receiving agency shall send a written certification directly or via electronic means to the organization or enterprise;

b/ Refrain from making advertisements with illegal contents specified in Clause 1, Article 8 of the Law on Cyber Security, and Article 28 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

c/ Block or remove illegal information at the request of the Ministry of Information and Communications and competent functional agencies specified in Article 14 of this Decree; provide information on organizations and individuals involved in cross-border advertising activities that show signs of violation to competent functional agencies upon request.

5. When entering into contracts with advertising service providers (including domestic and foreign organizations and individuals providing cross-border advertising services), advertisement publishers and advertisers have the following rights and obligations:

a/ To request advertising service providers to refrain from making advertisements with illegal contents specified in Clause 1, Article 8 of the Law on Cyber Security, and Article 28 of the Law on Intellectual Property;

b/ To request advertising service providers to take technical solutions so that advertising publishers and advertisers in Vietnam can control and remove advertisements that violate Vietnam’s law from their service provision systems.

6. Advertising service providers, advertisement publishers and advertisers may not cooperate with websites, whose acts of violation have been publicly notified by competent functional agencies on the Portal of the Ministry of Information and Communications, in publishing advertisements.”

2. To amend and supplement Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Responsibility to manage the provision of cross-border advertising services

1. Ministries, sectors and localities shall detect and identify illegal cross-border advertisements within the ambit of their competence as vested under regulations on management and sanctioning of administrative violations in the field of advertising.

The Ministry of Information and Communications is the agency receiving notices of illegal cross-border advertisements from ministries, sectors and localities and shall act as the focal point for contact and sending of requests to handle illegal advertisements to foreign cross-border advertising service providers.

2. Within 5 days after receiving evidence that a cross-border advertisement violates law, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall review and examine illegal content(s) thereof and send to the foreign cross-border advertising service provider a request for handling such content(s) in writing or via electronic means. Information on illegal advertisements sent to foreign cross-border advertising service providers for handling shall be publicly notified on the Portal of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Within 24 hours after receiving the Ministry of Information and Communications’ request, the foreign cross-border advertising service provider shall handle the illegal advertisement.

Past the above time limit, if the foreign service provider fails to handle the illegal advertisement without any plausible reason, the Ministry of Information and Communications shall take measures to block such illegal advertisement.

In case of detecting an illegal cross-border advertisement that is likely to affect Vietnam’s national security, a competent functional agency of Vietnam shall immediately take measures to block such illegal advertisement.

Blocking may be removed only after the illegal advertisement is handled by the foreign service provider at the request of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

3. To amend and supplement Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15. Periodical reporting

1. Domestic advertising service providers that cooperate with foreign service providers in providing cross-border advertising services in Vietnam shall make annual reports (before December 31) or irregular reports on provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, made according to Form No. 01 provided together with this Decree, to the Ministry of Information and Communications (the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information) upon request.

Reports shall be delivered by hand or sent by post or via electronic means.

2. Provincial-level Departments of Information and Communications shall, within the ambit of their assigned functions and tasks, make annual reports (before December 31) or irregular reports upon request on management of the provision of cross-border advertising services in Vietnam, and send them to the Ministry of Information and Communications (the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information).

Article 2. Implementation provisions

1. This Decree takes effect on September 15, 2021.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial-levels, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of People’s Committees at all levels, and related organizations and individuals shall implement this Decree.-

On behalf of the Government
For the Prime Minister
Deputy Minister
VU DUC DAM