Nghị định 91/2020/ND-CP

DECREE

FIGHTING SPAM MESSAGES, SPAM EMAILS AND SPAM CALLS

Pursuant to the Law on Government organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Electronic transaction dated November 29, 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to the Law on Telecommunications dated November 23, 2009;

Pursuant to the Law on Actions Against Administrative Violations dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on Advertising dated June 21, 2012;

Pursuant to the Law on Cyberinformation Security dated November 19, 2015;

Pursuant to Cybersecurity Law dated June 12, 2018;

At the request of the Minister of Information and Communications;

The Government promulgates a Decree on fighting spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

This Decree provides for the fighting of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls; regulations on advertising messages (SMS, MMS, USSD), emails and calls; rights and obligations of organizations and individuals; additional regulations on administrative penalties for sending and making spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Decree applies to organizations and individuals involved in the fight against spam messages, spam emails and spam calls; the sending of advertising messages, emails and making of advertising calls in Vietnam, including:

1. Providers of telecommunications services and/or Internet services.

2. Organization establishing private telecommunications networks.

3. Enterprises and organizations providing emailing services.

4. Senders of advertising messages, emails and calls (hereinafter referred to as “advertises”)

5. Recipients of advertising messages, emails and calls (hereinafter referred to as “users”)

6. Relevant organizations and individuals.

Article 3. Definitions

1. Advertising messages, advertising emails, advertising calls are messages, emails and calls that are meant to introduce profitable/non-profitable products and services and their sellers to the public; except news; social policies; personal information; customer service messages of telecommunication enterprises.

2. Customer service messages of telecommunication enterprises are messages sent by telecommunication enterprises to their users to inform them of activities and utilities of the services.

3. Spam messages include:

a) Advertising messages that are sent without users’ prior consent or advertising messages that violate the regulations of this Decree on sending advertising messages;

b) Messages that has prohibited contents specified in Article 9 of the Law on Electronic Transactions, Article 12 of the Law on Information Technology, Article 12 of the Law on Telecommunications, Article 8 of the Law on Advertising, Article 7 of the Law on Cyberinformation Security and Article 8 of the Cybersecurity Law.

4. Spam emails include:

a) Advertising emails that are sent without users’ prior consent or advertising emails that violate the regulations of this Decree on sending advertising emails;

b) Emails that has prohibited contents specified in Article 9 of the Law on Electronic Transactions, Article 12 of the Law on Information Technology, Article 12 of the Law on Telecommunications, Article 8 of the Law on Advertising, Article 7 of the Law on Cyberinformation Security and Article 8 of the Cybersecurity Law.

5. Spam calls include:

a) Advertising calls that are made without users’ prior consent or advertising calls that violate the regulations of this Decree on making advertising calls;

b) Calls that has prohibited contents specified in Article 9 of the Law on Electronic Transactions, Article 12 of the Law on Information Technology, Article 12 of the Law on Telecommunications, Article 8 of the Law on Advertising, Article 7 of the Law on Cyberinformation Security and Article 8 of the Cybersecurity Law.

6. Blacklists of IP addresses/domains are the lists of IP addresses and domains that are flagged as spamming by certain servers and periodically sent to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

7. “electronic address holder” means the person who creates or is provided with the electronic address.

8. “header” of an email is part of the information of an email that contains information about the sender, recipient(s), routing information, subject and other information about the email.

9. “subject” of an email is part of the header that summarizes the content of the email.

Chapter II

FIGHTING SPAM MESSAGES, SPAM EMAILS AND SPAM CALLS

Section 1. MEASURES FOR FIGHTING AND PREVENTION OF SPAM MESSAGES, SPAM EMAILS AND SPAM CALLS

Section 4. MEASURES FOR FIGHTING AND PREVENTION OF SPAM MESSAGES, SPAM EMAILS AND SPAM CALLS

1. Develop and launch systems for fighting and prevention of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

2. Establish criteria for recognition of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

3. Carryout surveillance and supervision; share information about sources of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

4. Receive and process feedbacks about spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

5. Supervise the provision of advertising services by messages, emails and calls.

6. Block, revoke electronic addresses that send out spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

7. Enhance domestic and international cooperation in anti-spam efforts.

8. Spread knowledge and raise awareness of the anti-spam efforts

Article 5. Systems for receiving feedbacks about spam messages, spam emails and spam calls

1. Authority of Information Security (AIS) of the Ministry of Information and Communications shall develop and operate the system for receiving feedbacks about spam messages, spam calls (on 5656 prefix) and spam emails (hereinafter referred to as “anti-spam feedbacks”).

2. When running advertising campaigns, advertisers that send advertising messages shall also send their copies to the system for receiving anti-spam feedbacks mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Users of telecommunications, Internet, emailing services may send feedbacks and evidence to the system for receiving anti-spam mentioned in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 6. Coordinating anti-spam activities

1. Information and data from the system for receiving anti-spam feedbacks and other sources of information and data shall be used for coordinating the prevention and handling of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

2. AIS shall coordinate the prevention and handling of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

3. Providers of telecommunications, Internet and emailing services and advertisers shall comply with requests of AIS regarding prevention and handling of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

Article 7. Do-Not-Call Register

1. Do-Not-Call Register is the list of phone numbers that have been registered by their subscribers who do not want to receive any opt-in message, advertising message or advertising call.

2. Users of telecommunications services are entitled to register or withdraw their legally held phone numbers from the Do-Not-Call Register.

3. Advertisers, providers of telecommunications and Internet services must not make advertising calls, send opt-in messages or advertising messages to any of the phone number on the Do-Not-Call Register.

4. AIS shall organize the development, maintenance and operation of the Do-Not-Call Register management system; instruct users to subscribe to and unsubscribe from the Do-Not-Call Register; make the list publicly available on the website/web portal of AIS.

Article 8. Blacklist of IP addresses sending spam emails

1. AIS shall organize, develop and periodically update the blacklist of IP addresses sending spam emails on its website/web portal.

2. Organizations, enterprises and individuals may use this blacklist to block spam emails.

Section 2. RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS, ENTERPRISES AND USERS

Article 9. Responsibilities of providers of telecommunications services, Internet services and organizations establishing private telecommunications networks

1. Provide users with instructions on how to fight spam messages and spam calls.

2. Provide users with instructions, tools and applications for reporting and blocking spam messages and spam calls.

3. Strictly implement the measures for prevention of advertising messages and advertising calls to the Do-Not-Call Register mentioned in Clause 1 Article 7 of this Decree.

4. Block and revoke electronic addresses used for sending spam messages, spam emails or making spam calls at the request of competent authorities.

5. Establish and adjust sending frequency limits to detect subscriber numbers suspicious of sending spam messages and improve effectiveness of blocking spam messages according to the nature, scope and time of blocking spam messages.

6. Establish and operate anti-spam systems that apply artificial intelligence, big data and technological advances.

7. Provide, update and share samples of spam messages for AIS and other providers of telecommunications services.

8. Establish and connect their brandname management systems to the National Brandname Management System; prevent advertisers from sending messages using the brandnames that are not issued by AIS.

9. Retain subscribing messages, unsubscribing requests and confirmations of unsubscribing from users after the send these messages through the system of the telecommunications service provider for at least 01 year.

10. Compile, update and share blacklists of IP addresses/domains sending spam emails with AIS and other providers of telecommunications and/or Internet services.

11. Implement measures for fighting and preventing spam messages and spam calls using the criteria for recognition of spam messages and spam calls.

12. Filter IP addresses/domains that send or are used to send spam emails under their management.

13. Cooperate with advertisers, domestic and international providers of telecommunications and Internet services in preventing spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

14. Implement various measures to evaluate the seriousness of spam messages and spam calls on their telecommunications networks; prepare periodic reports and statistics as instructed by AIS.

15. Do not collect charges for:

a) Unsubscribing requests sent by users;

b) Erroneous advertising messages;

c) Messages whose contents and charges are different from those announced by the advertisers.

16. Prepare periodic reports and statistics as prescribed by competent authorities.

Article 10. Responsibilities of providers of emailing services

1. Provide users with instructions how to fight spam emails.

2. Provide users with instructions, tools and applications for reporting and blocking spam emails.

3. Implement measures to block, filter, update sources of spam emails; have solutions to prevent loss and accidental blocking of users’ email addresses.

4. Monitor, inspect and scan their emailing servers to make sure they are not on the sources of spam emails.

5. Implement measures for fighting and preventing spam emails using the criteria for recognition of spam emails.

6. Retain the titles of emails for at least 180 days to serve settlement of advertising email complaints (if any).

7. Prepare periodic reports and statistics as prescribed by competent authorities.

Article 11. Responsibilities of advertisers

1. Check the Do-Not-Call Register mentioned in Clause 1 Article 7 of this Decree to avoid sending opt-in messages, advertising messages and making advertising calls to the numbers on the Register.

2. Only send advertising messages, advertising emails and make advertising calls to users that have given their prior consent by:

a) Agreeing to receive advertising messages after the advertiser sends the first and only opt-in message;

b) Completing the form and making a confirmation on paper or on the website/web portal, online application or social network of the advertiser;

c) Calling or sending a message to the advertiser’s call center to subscribe;

d) Using a software program to subscribe.

3. Provide users with tools to access or retain agreements on subscribing to and unsubscribing from advertising messages, advertising emails and advertising calls on their website/web portal to facilitate inspection and complaint settlement.

4. Take responsibility for and verify users’ prior consents when sending advertising messages, advertising emails and making advertising calls.

5. Have appropriate solutions and enable users to refuse to receive advertising messages in accordance with Article 16 and advertising emails in accordance with Article 20 of this Decree.

6. Cooperate with providers of telecommunications, Internet, mailing services and relevant organizations in advertising by messaging, emailing and calling.

7. Retain advertisement subscription requests, unsubscribing requests and confirmation messages for at least 01 year to facilitate inspection and supervision.

Article 12. Rights and obligations of users

1. Forwards information about spam messages, spam emails and spam calls to the system for receiving anti-spam feedbacks of AIS or that of providers of telecommunications, Internet and emailing services.

2. Decide whether to receive or refuse to receive advertisements.

3. Cooperate with providers of telecommunications, Internet, mailing services, advertisers and competent authorities in the fight against spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

Chapter III

ADVERTISING BY MESSAGES, EMAILS AND CALLS

Section 1. REGULATIONS ON ADVERTISING BY MESSAGES, EMAILS AND CALLS

Article 13. Rules for sending advertising messages and advertising emails, making advertising calls

1. Do not send advertising messages or make advertising calls to the numbers on the Do-Not-Call Register mentioned in Clause 1 Article 7 or without prior consents from the users.

2. Advertisers may only send first and only opt-in message to a phone number that is not on the Do-Not-Call Register. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall elaborate regulations on sending opt-in messages.

3. In case the user refuses to receive advertisements or does not answer the first and only opt-in message, the advertiser must not send any additional opt-in message or advertising message to that number.

4. Stop sending advertising messages and advertising emails and making advertising calls to the user after receiving the user’s unsubscribing request.

5. Each advertiser may send up to 03 advertising messages to a phone number, up to 03 advertising emails to an email address, and make 01 advertising call to a phone number within 24 hours unless otherwise agreed by the user.

6. Advertising messages may only be sent during 07:00 – 22:00; advertising calls may only be made during 08:00 – 17:00 unless otherwise agreed by the user.

7. Advertisement contents shall be conformable with advertising laws.

8. Only send advertising messages or make advertising calls after an brandname is issued; Do not use phone numbers to send advertising messages or advertising calls.

Article 14. Advertising message requirements

1. Advertising messages shall be tagged in accordance with Article 15 of this Decree.

2. Advertisements of charged services shall specify the charges.

3. Recipients have the option to refuse in accordance with Article 16 of this Decree.

Article 15. Tagging advertising messages

1. All advertising messages shall be tagged.

2. The tag shall be placed at the beginning of the message.

3. The tag shall be [QC] or [AD].

Article 16. Option to unsubscribe from advertising messages

1. The user’s option to unsubscribe from advertising messages shall:

b) be clearly displayed at the end of the advertising message;

b) instruct the user to unsubscribe from advertising messages to which the user previously subscribed;

c) allow the user to reject a specific product or group of products where necessary; and

d) contain clear instructions on how to unsubscribe in the cases specified in Point b and Point c Clause 1 and the unsubscribing methods specified in in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The unsubscribing request can be made by:

a) sending a message; or

b) making a call.

3. Right after the user’s unsubscribing request, the advertiser shall send a confirmation and stop sending the refused type of advertising messages to the user.

4. The confirmation shall:

a) clearly state that the unsubscribing request has been received, time of receipt of the request and stopping sending advertising messages;

b) be successfully sent once and not contain any advertisement.

Article 17. Advertising email requirements

1. The email title shall match the email content and the advertisement therein shall be conformable with advertising laws.

2. Advertising emails shall be tagged in accordance with Article 18 of this Decree.

3. Every advertising email shall contain information about the advertisers in accordance with Article 19 of this Decree.

4. Advertisements of charged services shall specify the charges.

5. Recipients have the unsubscribing option in accordance with Article 20 of this Decree.

Article 18. Tagging advertising emails

1. All advertising emails shall be tagged.

2. The tag shall be placed at the beginning of the email title.

3. The tag shall be [QC] or [AD].

Article 19. Mandatory information about the advertiser in an advertising email

1. Information about the advertiser shall include the advertiser’s name, phone number, email address, geographical address, website/web portal, social network (if any).

2. Information about the advertiser shall be clearly displayed and placed right before the unsubscribing option.

Article 20. Option to unsubscribe from advertising emails

1. The user’s option to unsubscribe advertising emails shall:

b) be clearly displayed at the end of the advertising email;

b) contains the statement that the user is entitled to refuse all products from the advertiser;

c) allow the user to reject a specific product or group of products where necessary; and

d) contain clear instructions to unsubscribe in the cases specified in Point b and Point c Clause 1 and the unsubscribing methods specified in in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The unsubscribing request can be made by:

a) submitting a request on the website, web portal or social network;

b) sending an email; or

c) making a call.

3. Right after the user’s unsubscribing request is received, the advertiser shall send a confirmation and stop sending the unsubscribed advertising emails to the user.

4. The confirmation shall:

a) clearly state that the unsubscribing request has been received, time of receipt and stopping sending advertising emails;

b) be successfully sent once and not contain any advertisement.

Article 21. Advertising call requirements

1. All advertising calls shall contain adequate information about the caller (name and address) which is provide before the advertisement contents. Charges shall be specified if charged services are advertised.

2. If the user refuses to receive advertising calls, the advertiser shall promptly stop calling the user.

Section 2. BRAND NAME MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Article 22. National Brandname Management System

1. National Brandname Management System is a system for management and storage of brandnames nationwide.

2. Every organization and individual may access the National Brandname Management System on tendinhdanh.ais.gov.vn.

3. AIS shall develop and operate the National Brandname Management System.

Article 23. Use of brandnames

1. A brandname used for sending advertising messages or making advertising calls (hereinafter referred to as “brandname”) shall consist of up to 11 continuous Latin letters, digits (from 0 to 9), the symbols (-), (_), (.) and spaces and does not discriminate between upper case and lower case letters; must not contain only digits; is used for displaying or identifying the sender.

2. All organizations and individuals are entitled to register for and use an unlimited number of brandnames for advertising by messaging or calling.

3. An brandname issued by AIS in the National Brandname Management System shall be unique and valid for 03 years from the issuance date/

4. The registration and use of brandnames shall adhere to the principles of equality, non-discrimination, first-come-first served; avoid confusion or misunderstanding caused by homophones and multiple-meaning words or lack of Vietnamese diacritics.

5. The brandname user shall be legally responsible for the purposes of the brandname, accuracy of information and documents in the application.

6. An organization or individual must not use a brandname that is not issued by AIS or that has been issued by AIS to another organization or individual, unless otherwise accepted by the latter; must not violate lawful rights and interests of any other brandname holder.

7. A brandname must not be used after it is revoked.

8. The organization or individual that is issued with a brandname shall pay the issuance and maintenance fee in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications on fees and charges.

Article 24. Application for brandname issuance

An application for brandname issuance shall consist of:

1. If the application is an organization:

a) A certified true copy of the organization’s establishment decision or Certificate of Enterprise Registration. In case multiple brandnames are registered under one application, only 01 certified true copy of the Certificate of Enterprise Registration or establishment decision is required;

b) The Brandname Application Form No. 01 enclosed herewith;

c) Relevant documents about intellectual property rights and trademark registration (if any).

2. If the application is an individual:

a) A certified true copy of the ID card or passport;

b) The Brandname Application Form No. 01 enclosed herewith;

c) Relevant documents about intellectual property rights and trademark registration (if any).

Article 25. Submission of the application for brandname issuance

The application for brandname issuance may be submit:

1.  by post to AIS; or

2. electronically on tendinhdanh.ais.gov.vn.

Article 26. Issuance of the brandname certificate

1. Right after the application is received, AIS shall send a confirmation email or message to the applicant specifying the date and time of receipt.

2. Within 01 working day from the receipt of the application, AIS shall consider its validity and decide whether to:

a) Issue the brandname and inform the applicant by email or messaging. After the fee has been fully paid by the applicant, AIS shall send the brandname certificate (Form No. 02 enclosed herewith) by email.

b) Reject the applicant and provide explanation by email or messaging, in which case the applicant shall supplement the application and submit it again in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree.

Article 27. Reissuance of the brandname certificate

1. In case any of the information relevant to an issued brandname or the brandname certificate is lost, the holder shall complete and submit the completed Brandname Application Form No. 01 enclosed herewith to AIS in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree.

2. AIS shall reissue the brandname certificate in accordance with Article 26 of this Decree with the same expiry date.

Article 28. Renewal of the brandname certificate

1. Renewal of the brandname certificate means reissuance of the brandname certificate with a new expiry date.

2. At least 15 days before the expiry date, the certificate holder shall complete and submit the completed Brandname Application Form No. 01 enclosed herewith and  relevant documents to AIS in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree.

3. AIS shall renew the Brandname Certificate in accordance with Article 26 of this Decree. A brandname may be renewed multiple times. Each renewal shall be 03 years.

Article 29. Revocation of brandname

1. A brandname will be revoked in the following cases:

a) The brandname is used for sending spam messages or making spam calls or providing illegal services as concluded by a competent authority;

b) The brandname maintenance fee is not paid within 30 days from the due date;

c) The brandname has expired and has not been renewed;

d) The revocation is requested by the brandname holder;

d) The revocation is requested by a competent authority.

2. AIS shall send a notification of the revocation to the brandname holder by email or messaging and make an announcement on www.ais.gov.vn.

Section 3. Reporting

Article 30. Reporting

1. Brandname holders shall submit annual reports (Form No. 04 enclosed herewith) or ad hoc reports at the request of AIS.

2. Brandname holders shall submit annual reports according to Form No. 05 enclosed herewith and ad hoc reports at the request of AIS.

3. Telecommunication enterprises that provide messaging services shall submit annual reports according to Form No. 06 enclosed herewith and ad hoc reports at the request of AIS.

Article 31. Reporting time and methods

1. Annual reports shall be submitted before December 31 of the reporting year. An annual report shall contain data obtained during the period from December 15 of the preceding year to December 14 of the reporting year.

2. Soft copies of reports shall be sent to [email protected] and updated on the National Brandname Management System. Instructions on reporting shall be posted on the AIS’s website.

Chapter IV

ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES

Article 32. Addition of Points c, d, dd to Clause 2; Points p, q, r, s to Clause 4; Points e, g to Clause 6; Point c to Clause 10 of Article 94; Clause 7a to Article 94 of the Government’s Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 03, 2020 on administrative penalties for violations against regulations on postal services, telecommunications, radio frequencies, information technology and electronic transactions

“Article 94. Violations against regulations on emails and messages providing product/service-related information”

2. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

c) Making advertising calls to users without their clear prior consent;

d) Making advertising calls to users who have unsubscribed to advertising calls;

c) Sending opt-in message after the user has refused or does not response.

4. A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

p) Making more than 01 advertising call to 01 phone number within 24 hours unless otherwise agreed by the user;

q) Making advertising calls outside the 08:00 – 17:00 period unless otherwise agreed by the user;

r) Failure to verify users’ prior consents when sending advertising messages, advertising emails or making advertising calls;

s) Failure to provide users with tools to access or retain agreements on subscribing and unsubscribing from advertising calls and opt-in messages on the website/web portal to facilitate inspection and complaint settlement.

6. A fine ranging from VND 60,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

e) Sending opt-in messages against regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

g) Sending an opt-in message to any phone number on the Do-Not-Call Register.

7a. A fine ranging from VND 80,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for sending advertising messages or making advertising calls to any of the phone number on the Do-Not-Call Register.

10. Remedial measures:

c) Enforced revocation of the phone numbers used for commission of the violations in Point 1 of this Article.”.

Article 33. Addition of Points c, d, dd, e to Clause 1; Point e to Clause 2; Points l, m, n, o to Clause 3 of Article 95, Clauses 3a, 3b, 4a to Article 95 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP

“Article 95. Violations against regulations on provision of advertising email/message/call services and message-based content services

1. A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

c) Failure to provide tools and applications for users to report and block spam emails themselves;

d) Failure to have measures to block, filter, update sources of spam emails or failure to have solutions to prevent loss and accidental blocking of users’ email addresses;

dd) Failure to monitor, inspect and scan their emailing servers to make sure they are not on the sources of spam emails;

e) Failure to prepare periodic reports and statistics as prescribed by competent authorities.

2. A fine ranging from VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

e) Failure to compile, update and share blacklists of IP addresses/domains sending spam emails with AIS and other providers of telecommunications and/or Internet services.

3. A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

l) Failure to provide tools and application for users to report and block spam messages and spam calls themselves;

m) Failure to provide, update and share samples of spam messages with AIS and other providers of telecommunications services;

n) Failure filter IP addresses/domains that send or are used to send spam emails under their management;

o) Failure to evaluate the seriousness of spam messages and spam calls on their telecommunications networks.

3a. A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed for use of a brandname that is not issued by Authority of Information Security or that has been issued by AIS to another organization or individual without the latter’s consent; use of a revoked brandname.

3b. A fine ranging from VND 70,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed use of a brandname for sending spam messages or providing illegal services as concluded by a competent authority.

4a. A fine ranging from VND 140,000,000 to VND 170,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of any of the following violations:

a) Failure to have measures to block advertising messages and advertising calls to the Do-Not-Call Register;

b) Failure to block and revoke electronic addresses used for sending spam messages, spam emails or making spam calls at the request of competent authorities;

c) Failure to develop and operate anti-spam systems;

d) Failure to establish and connect their brandname management system to the National Brandname Management System;

d) Failure to comply with requests of AIS regarding prevention and handling of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls and implementation of other professional measures.”.

Article 34. Addition of Points e, g to Clause 2 Article of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP

“Article 120. Determination of power to impose penalties

2. The People’s public security forces:

e) Directors of provincial police authorities shall have the power to impose penalties for the administrative violations in Clause 7a Article 32 of this Decree;

g) The Directors of police departments specialized in high-tech crimes (A05), social order-related crimes (C02), corruption, smuggling, economic crimes (C03), administrative management and social order, drug-related crimes, internal political affairs, economic security shall have the power to impose penalties for the administrative violations in Clause 7a Article 32 of this Decree .”.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSES

Article 35. Effect

1. This Decree comes into force from October 01, 2020.

2. This Decree supersedes the Government’s Anti-spam Decree No. 90/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 13, 2008 and the Government’s Decree No. 77/2012/NĐ-CP on amendments to Decree No. No. 90/2008/NĐ-CP.

Article 36. Transition clauses

Within 90 days from the effective date of this Decree, telecommunication enterprises shall send electronic documents about declared brandnames to AIS.

Within 180 days from the effective date of this Decree, AID shall publish the list of lawful brandnames according to the documents provided by telecommunication enterprises. Declared brandnames that are not on the list shall undergo the procedures for issuance of new brandnames specified in Articles 24, 25, 26 of this Decree.

Within 90 days from the effective date of this Decree, AIS shall move the system for receiving feedbacks about spam messages from 456 prefix to 5656 prefix.

Article 33 on addition of Clause 3a and Clause 3b to Article 95 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP shall be effective on March 01, 2021.

Article 37. Organizing the implementation

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall provide guidance on implementation of this Decree within the scope of its functions and power.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall cooperate with the Ministry of Information and Communications in the fight against unsolicited messages and calls that are meant to commit scam, harassment, spread malicious codes or software or have banned contents prescribed by law.

Article 38. Responsibility for implementation

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of Governmental agencies, Presidents of the People’s Committees of provinces, relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

APPENDIX

(Enclosed with the Government’s Decree No. 91/2020/NĐ-CP dated August 14, 2020)

Form No. 01

BRANDNAME ... (1) APPLICATION

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. ... /2020/NĐ-CP dated ... on prevention of spam messages, spam emails and spam calls.

……(2) hereby applies for the ... (1) of the brandname with the following information:

Part 1: General information

Part 2. Enclosures

1 ......................................................................................................................................

2.......................................................................................................................................

Part 3. Commitments

…………(2) hereby declares that I/we:

1. Take the legal responsibility for the accuracy and legitimacy of the contents of this application and the enclosures.

2. Take the legal responsibility for the purposes and accuracy of the information provided, and that the brandname is lawfully registered and used, and that its use will not violate lawful rights and interests of other organizations.

3. Will promptly update information about the brandname every time a change occurs.

4. If this brandname is issued/reissued/renewed, I/we will strictly comply with Vietnam’s regulations of law on use of brandnames, advertising by messaging and calling, and relevant regulations./.

*Notes:

1. Issuance/Reissuance/Renewal.

2. Applicant’s name.

3. Complete Form No. 03 in case another unit is authorized to apply.

Form No. 02

Form No. 03

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
Independence - Freedom – Happiness
---------------

AUTHORIZATION LETTER

Pursuant to the Civil Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Pursuant to of applicable constitutional documents.

[location, date]:

1. The Authorizing Party:

- Full name: …………………………………………………………………………………

- Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

- ID No.: ……………….. issued on: …………….  by : …………………….

- Nationality: ……………………………………………………………………………

- Representative of ……….., address: ………………….., Certificate of Business Registration No. …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 

2. The Authorized Party:

- Full name: …………………………………………………………………………………

- Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

- ID No.: ……………….. issued on: …………….  by : …………………….

- Nationality:

- Representative of ……….., address: ………………….., Certificate of Business Registration No. ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3. The Authorizing Party hereby authorizes the Authorized Party to:

Complete procedures for registration of brandname with Authority of Information Security.

4. Authorization period:

From ................ to ................

5. Both parties hereby declare that:

- Both parties are fully responsible to the law for the information declared herein.

- All disputes between the parties shall be settled by the parties themselves.

This authorization letter will be made into ... copies; each party shall keep ... copies.

Form No. 04

PERIODIC REPORT OF BRANDNAME HOLDER

(Reporting period: From ..... to ....... )

To: Authority of Information Security - Ministry of Information and Communications

Name of brandname holder: …………………………………………………………………

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

1. Total revenue and growth from advertising services under the brandname in the period

- Total revenue: …………………………………………………………….

- Growth ……………………………………………….

2. Total revenue and growth from content-based services under the brandname in the period

- Total revenue: …………………………………………………………….

- Growth ……………………………………………….

3. Brandname use statistics

a) Advertising messages

b) Advertising calls

4. Proposals:

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Form No. 05

PERIODIC REPORT OF USE OF BRANDNAMES BY TELECOMMUNICATION ENTERPRISE

(Reporting period: From ..... to ....... )

To: Authority of Information Security - Ministry of Information and Communications

1. Total revenue and growth from brandname-based advertising services in the period

- Total revenue: …………………………………………………………….

- Growth: ……………………………………………….

2. Quantity of brandnames used for messaging and/or calling: ……………………………………………………………………...

- Registered brandname: ……………………………………………………………………...

- Quantity of brandnames used for messaging: ………………………………………..

- Quantity of brandnames used for calling: ………………………………………..

3. Brandname use statistics

4. Use of brandnames by products and services

5. Charges for messages using brandnames

Note: Increase/decrease is the percentage of increase/decrease compared to the previous period. Plus (+) means increase, minus (-) means decrease; advertisement script means the content of an advertisement or call, representing an advertising campaign.

6. Proposals:

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Form No. 06

PERIODIC MESSAGING REPORT OF TELECOMMUNICATION ENTERPRISE

(Reporting period: From ..... to ....... )

To: Authority of Information Security - Ministry of Information and Communications

Enterprise’s name: ……………………………………………………………………….

Address: …………………………………………………………………………………

1. Message exchange statistics: …………………………………………………………….

2. Spam message statistics: …………………………………………………………….

Notes: Increase/decrease is compared to the previous year and expressed by percentage (%). Plus (+) means increase, minus (-) means decrease.

(1) Messages sent to the enterprise’s subscribers.

(2) Messages sent by the enterprise’s subscribers.

(3) Incorrectly blocked messages due to users’ feedbacks.

3. Proposals:

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