The draft Cybersecurity law is expected to be discussed at the National Assembly on April 4.
Google, Facebook required to set up representative office in Vietnam.
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Additionally, those companies have to record local users' data within the Vietnam's territory.
While some expressed concern over the draft Law will not help improve Vietnam's cyber security, and create unnecessary burdens for foreign businesses. The Minister of Public Security considered local users' database to be national assets, and stressed the necessity for competent authority to control. As such, it is the matter of respecting Vietnam's security and sovereignty.
In the latest version of draft law, foreign providers may not be requested to host their servers in Vietnam compulsorily, informed the Standing Committee..
However, companies are still required to set up representative offices in Vietnam, as well as to record local users' data within the Vietnam's territory.
Such changes, according to the Standing Committee, will serve the purpose of protecting the national defense through the access to local users' database.
Moreover, foreign providers will have responsibilities to provide information and data under the request of the authority in dealing with cyberspace' violation in Vietnam.
The change is also considered to be in harmonization with Vietnam's commitments to international trade and maintain high level of internet freedom, as well as being compatible with the country's 2013 Constitution.
As at January 2018, Google and Facebook have hired 1,781 and 441 local servers, respectively to record Vietnamese users' data, informed the Ministry of Public Security.
Last but not least, the draft law is expected to create legal framework for competent authorities in supervising foreign internet-based service providers operating in Vietnam, with an aim to prevent losses to the state budget.
On the other hand, it will allow domestic and foreign companies to compete in a fair basis.
The European Commission on December 2016 also regulated Facebook, Google and Twitter to revise its policies to ensure the users' privacy, as well as removing fake news. There are also requirements to control video content in social networks such as in television, while Facebook has been banned from transferring 36 million users' data in WhatsApp to its database.
