Strengthened Personal Information Protection Regulation Under Vietnam's Decree No. 13 and the Response Strategy Japanese Companies Should Adopt

Decree No. 13, which took effect in 2023, has substantially strengthened personal information protection regulation in Vietnam. Points Japanese companies should note include the obligation to obtain consent, restrictions on cross-border transfer, and stricter sanctions for violations — all of which have a significant impact on existing operations. A Vietnamese attorney provides a detailed, practice-oriented explanation of response strategy. NEXORA LAWFIRM has a track record of supporting multiple global companies with personal information protection compliance, developing internal rules and consent forms, reviewing data processing outsourcing agreements, and dealing with the authorities. It supports optimal risk response at the intersection of legal, IT, and compliance matters.

01 - Key Obligations and Strict Requirements Under Decree No. 13

Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP ("Decree 13"), which took effect on July 1, 2023, represents a major turning point as a comprehensive regulatory framework for personal information protection in Vietnam's digital environment.
While this decree is regarded as aiming for international standards close to the EU's GDPR, it also imposes a significant legal and financial burden on foreign companies in Vietnam, particularly Japanese-affiliated companies.

1.1. Key Obligations and Strict Requirements Under Decree 13

Decree 13 imposes the following stringent data protection obligations on companies.

✅ Obtaining clear and specific consent from the individual concerned is mandatory (covering all data subjects, including employees, customers, and business partners)

✅ Personal data must be classified (basic personal data / sensitive information), with different protection standards applied to each

✅ A system based on the principles of "minimization, purpose specification, and security" must be established for the collection, processing, and storage of data

✅ An obligation to submit, notify, and register impact assessment documents with the Ministry of Public Security

✅ The burden of proving compliance rests with the company (reversal of the burden of proof)

➡ Violation of these obligations carries the risk of significant fines and administrative sanctions such as business suspension orders.

1.2. Comparing Decree 13 with the Personal Data Protection Law

Since Decree 13 took effect, there have been many voices among businesses and legal practitioners criticizing it as "over-regulation." Many business associations have called on the government to relax the regulations.

However, there has to date been no formal response to these requests, and the Vietnamese government appears, if anything, to be moving in the direction of incorporating even stricter requirements than Decree 13 into the forthcoming formal Personal Data Protection Law. Specifically, the position is as follows.

02 - Concrete Impact on Japanese-Affiliated Companies and Challenges Facing SMEs

With the enforcement of Decree 13, Japanese-affiliated companies operating in sectors such as finance, insurance, e-commerce, logistics, customer service, and IT are directly affected in practice in the following ways.

✅ Redesigning and reinforcing existing IT infrastructure and data platforms (introducing new encryption, monitoring, and consent management tools, etc.)

✅ Reviewing internal business processes (formalizing and documenting data processing procedures and internal rules, and conducting employee training)

✅ Increased operating costs (investment in enhanced security, cloud/backup systems, and encryption)

✅ Legal risk in the event of a violation (warnings, fines, suspension of data processing, forced deletion orders, etc.)

■The Current Reality: Compliance Burden Exceeding What SMEs Can Bear■

For small and medium-sized Japanese-affiliated companies in particular, and FDI companies newly entering Vietnam, responding to Decree 13 has, in many cases, reached a level that is genuinely difficult to achieve.

Key challenges:

❗ A shortage of in-house personnel familiar with cybersecurity and Vietnamese law

❗ Decree 13 and its related statutory forms have no official Japanese translation, making it easy for discrepancies to arise in interpreting the legal language

❗ Initial costs are high, while the return on investment is unclear (for example, for B2B businesses that do not directly handle consumer data)

❗ Some consulting firms tend to uniformly recommend excessive packages — GDPR-standard DPIAs (impact assessments), the appointment of a DPO (Data Protection Officer), ISO 27001 certification, and so on — which tends to inflate both cost and scope

Note That Not All Obligations Apply Uniformly

The provisions of Decree 13 are wide-ranging, but they are not applied to every company under the same standard.
In practice, a risk-based approach is available, tailored to the scale of the business, the nature of the data handled, and the purpose of processing.

➡ For this reason, a formalistic, one-size-fits-all response risks excessive cost and reduced effectiveness; it is important to build a phased, rational response strategy suited to the actual realities of one's own business.

03 - Choosing a Partner Who Understands Your Company's Real Situation, Rather Than One That Simply Sells Services

In the current strict regulatory environment, as Japanese-affiliated companies work to comply with Decree 13, it is important to select a partner capable of a flexible response tailored to the company's actual situation, rather than a consultant who merely sells a uniform "compliance package."

A reliable legal partner should demonstrate the following capabilities and attitude.

✅ Analyzing and classifying data risk according to the company's business activities, and clarifying the priority of obligations

✅ Designing a phased and realistic compliance response schedule tailored to the company's industry, scale, and organizational structure (for example, the response required differs between an IT company and a consulting firm)

✅ Providing templates and procedural manuals that can be flexibly customized to fit existing business processes, without requiring costly IT system implementation

✅ Providing concise training and internal explanations in Japanese or bilingually, rather than treating this as a mere "sales" exercise

➡ A good partner is one that helps you accomplish exactly what needs to be done, accurately, efficiently, and reliably.

Flexible, Practical Response Is the Key to Achieving Both Legal Compliance and Business Growth

Decree 13 represents an important step for Vietnam in moving closer to international privacy protection standards.
However, how to comply reliably while minimizing the legal and financial burden of its enforcement is the key to success for foreign companies.

Japanese-affiliated companies should first reassess the risk level of their own data processing, and, rather than adhering rigidly to formalities, proceed with a phased and effective compliance response alongside a trusted partner who can support a response tailored to their actual circumstances.