Decree No. 91/2020/NĐ-CP on Combating Spam Text Messages, Emails, and Calls

DECREE
Anti-Spam Text Messages, Email Spam, and Unsolicited Calls

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Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015,

Pursuant to the Law on Electronic Transactions 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 Handling Administrative Offenses dated June 20, 2012;

Pursuant to the Advertising Law dated June 21, 2012;

||| Pursuant to the Cybersecurity Law dated November 19, 2015;

||| Pursuant to the Cyber Security Law dated June 12, 2018;

At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communications;

The Government issues the Decree on anti-spam text messages, email spam, and unsolicited calls.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Decree stipulates measures to combat spam text messages, email spam, and unsolicited calls, and regulations regarding advertising through text messages (SMS, MMS, USSD), emails, and phone calls; rights and obligations of agencies, organizations, and individuals, and supplements administrative violation handling regulations concerning spam text messages, email spam, and unsolicited calls.

Article 2. Applicability

This Decree applies to organizations and individuals related to activities combating spam text messages, email spam, unsolicited calls, and sending advertising text messages, emails, and making advertising phone calls in Vietnam. Specifically as follows:

1. Telecommunication service providers, Internet service providers.

2. Organizations establishing private telecommunication networks.

3. Organizations providing email services.

4. Advertisers using text messages, emails, and phone calls (hereinafter referred to as Advertisers).

5. Users of text messages, emails, and phone calls related to advertising activities (hereinafter referred to as Users).

6. Other Relevant Organizations and Individuals.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

1. Advertising text messages, email advertisements, and advertising phone calls refer to text messages, emails, and phone calls aimed at introducing products, goods, and services for profit-making purposes; non-profit products and services; businesses and individuals operating such products, goods, and services being introduced, except for news; social policies; personal information; customer care text messages from telecommunications companies.

2. Customer care text messages from telecommunications companies are text messages sent by telecommunications companies to their customers using telecommunication services solely for informing about the activities and convenient features of those telecommunication services.

3. Spam text messages include the following types:

a) Advertising text messages without prior consent from the User or advertising text messages violating the provisions on sending advertising text messages under this Decree;

b) Text messages violating prohibited contents as stipulated 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 Cybersecurity, and Article 8 of the Law on National Security.

4. Email spam includes the following types:

a) Advertising emails without prior consent from the User or advertising emails violating the provisions on sending advertising emails under this Decree;

b) Emails violating prohibited contents as stipulated 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 Cybersecurity, and Article 8 of the Law on National Security.

5. Unsolicited calls include the following types:

a) Advertising phone calls without prior consent from the User or advertising phone calls violating the provisions on making advertising phone calls under this Decree;

b) Phone calls violating prohibited contents as stipulated 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 Cybersecurity, and Article 8 of the Law on National Security.

6. Blacklist of IP addresses/domain names refers to lists of IP addresses/ranges of IP addresses or domain names marked as sources of email spam by organizations compiling statistics on email spam servers as specified by the Ministry of Information and Communications for each period.

7. The person entitled to use an electronic address is the person who creates or is granted that electronic address.

8. Email header is the information attached to the email content including information about origin, destination, route, subject, and other information about the email.

9. Email subject is a part of the header summarizing the content of the email.

Chapter II
ANTI-SPAM TEXT MESSAGES, EMAIL SPAM, AND UNSOLICITED CALLS

Section 1
MEASURES TO COMBAT AND PREVENT SPAM TEXT MESSAGES, EMAIL SPAM, AND UNSOLICITED CALLS
MEASURES TO COMBAT AND PREVENT SPAM TEXT MESSAGES, EMAIL SPAM, AND UNSOLICITED CALLS

Article 4. Measures to counter and prevent spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls

1. Establish and implement systems to counter and prevent spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

2. Develop criteria for identifying spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

3. Monitor, supervise, and share information and data on sources disseminating spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

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

5. Supervise activities providing advertising services through messages, emails, and telephone calls.

6. Prevent and reclaim electronic addresses disseminating spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

7. Enhance domestic and international cooperation in combating and preventing spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

8. Promote awareness and understanding in combating spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

Article 5. System for receiving complaints about spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications (Information Security Agency) shall establish and operate the system for receiving complaints about spam messages and spam calls (on number 5656), and spam emails.

2. When implementing advertising programs, advertisers using messages must simultaneously send copies of the advertising messages to the complaint system for spam messages and spam calls (on number 5656) as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

3. Telecommunications, Internet, and email service users may report and provide evidence to the system for receiving complaints about spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 6. Coordination in preventing and handling spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls

1. Information and data from the system for receiving complaints about spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls, and other information and data sources shall be used to coordinate the prevention and handling of spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications (Information Security Agency) is the coordinating agency for preventing and handling spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

3. Organizations and enterprises providing telecommunications, Internet, and email services, and advertisers shall comply with the coordination requirements for preventing and handling spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (Information Security Agency).

Article 7. No Advertising List

1. The No Advertising List (DoNotCall) is a collection of telephone numbers where the person entitled to use such telephone numbers has registered to not accept any subscription registration messages, advertising messages, or advertising calls.

2. Organizations and individuals using telecommunications services have the right to register or withdraw from the No Advertising List for telephone numbers under their lawful use.

3. Advertisers and telecommunications, Internet service providers are not permitted to make advertising calls, send subscription registration messages, or send advertising messages to any telephone number on the No Advertising List.

4. The Ministry of Information and Communications (Information Security Agency) shall organize the establishment and maintenance, operation of the management system for the No Advertising List, guide users on how to register or cancel registration from the No Advertising List, and publicly allow access to the No Advertising List on the Ministry's Portal/Website (Information Security Agency).

Article 8. Blacklist of IP addresses disseminating spam emails

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) shall organize, build, update regularly, and publicly disclose on the Ministry's website (National Cybersecurity Center) the blacklist of IP addresses/domain names disseminating spam emails.

2. Organizations, enterprises, and individuals shall use the blacklist of IP addresses/domain names to prevent the dissemination of spam emails.

Section 2
RESPONSIBILITIES OF ORGANIZATIONS, ENTERPRISES, AND USERS

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

1. Guide users on how to combat spam messages and spam calls.

2. Provide guidance and tools for users to report spam messages and spam calls and allow users to proactively block such messages and calls.

3. Fully implement measures to prevent promotional messages and calls from reaching the non-promotional list as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree.

4. Block and reclaim email addresses used to disseminate spam messages and emails and spam calls upon request of competent state agencies.

5. Proactively set and adjust frequency thresholds to identify suspected spam message senders and achieve effective blocking of spam messages based on the nature, scope, and timing of the blocking.

6. Build and operate technical systems to combat and prevent spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls using artificial intelligence, big data, and advanced technological solutions.

7. Provide, update, and share common spam message templates with the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) and other telecommunications service providers.

8. Establish and connect their technical management systems for identifiers to the national identifier management system; prevent advertisers from sending messages using identifiers not issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center).

9. Store registration information for advertisements, refusal requests, and confirmation of refusals from users for a minimum period of one year when users perform registration, refusal, and confirmation of refusal actions for advertisements through the telecommunications service provider's system via text messages.

10. Build, update, provide, and share the common blacklist of IP addresses/domain names disseminating spam emails with the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) and other telecommunications and Internet service providers.

11. Implement measures to combat and prevent spam messages and calls based on criteria for identifying spam messages and calls.

12. Filter out IP addresses/domain names under their management that disseminate or are abused to disseminate spam emails.

13. Coordinate with advertisers and domestic and international telecommunications and Internet service providers to prevent spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

14. Implement measures to assess the status of spam messages and calls on their telecommunications network and periodically report and statistically analyze according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center).

15. Shall not charge fees for messages when:

a) Users opt-out of receiving promotional messages;

b) Faulty promotional messages;

c) Messages containing incorrect content or charges as advertised by the advertiser.

16. Periodically report and statistically analyze according to the regulations of competent state agencies.

Article 10. Responsibilities of Electronic Mail Service Providers

1. Guide Users on how to combat spam emails.

2. Provide guidance and tools that enable Users to independently block spam emails and report them.

3. Implement measures to block, filter, and update lists of sources of spam emails, and take steps to prevent loss and misidentification of Users' emails.

4. Monitor, control, and review their email server systems to ensure they do not become sources of spam emails.

5. Base on criteria for identifying spam emails to implement measures against and prevent spam emails.

6. Retain email headers for a minimum period of 180 days to serve complaints and reports regarding advertising emails.

7. Report and statistically analyze periodically as prescribed by competent state authorities.

Article 11. Responsibilities of Advertisers

1. Must check the No-Solicitation List specified in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree to avoid sending registration messages, promotional messages, and promotional calls to phone numbers listed therein.

2. May only send promotional messages, promotional emails, and promotional calls to Users when the User has previously agreed to receive promotions through one of the following methods:

a) Agreeing to receive promotional messages after the advertiser sends the first and only registration message;

b) Declaring and confirming on a registration form printed on paper, on the Portal/Webpage, online applications, social networks of the advertiser;

c) Calling or sending a text message to the advertiser's call center to register;

d) Using software to assist with registration for receiving promotions.

3. Provide Users with tools to search for or store agreements on registration, refusal to receive promotional messages, promotional emails, and promotional calls on the Portal/Webpage, social networks to serve audits, inspections, and resolution of complaints and reports.

4. Shall be responsible and must have measures to verify the clear prior consent of the User when sending promotional messages, promotional emails, and promotional calls.

5. Develop reasonable solutions to facilitate Users in refusing to receive promotional messages according to Article 16 and promotional emails according to Article 20 of this Decree.

6. Coordinate with telecommunications service providers, Internet, email service providers, and other related organizations in advertising through messages, emails, and calls.

7. Store information on registration for promotions, requests to refuse, and confirmation of refusal from Users for at least one year to serve audits, inspections, and supervision.

Article 12. Rights and Obligations of Users

1. Forward information about spam messages, spam emails, spam calls to the system for reporting spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Agency) or of telecommunications, Internet, email service providers.

2. Have the right to accept or refuse to receive advertisements.

3. Cooperate with telecommunications, Internet, email service providers, advertisers, and competent state authorities in combating spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

Chapter III
ADVERTISING THROUGH TEXT MESSAGES, EMAILS, AND PHONE CALLS

Section 1
REGULATIONS ON ADVERTISING THROUGH THE SENDING OF TEXT MESSAGES, EMAILS, AND PHONE CALLS

Article 13. Principles for Sending Advertising Messages, Email Advertisements, and Making Advertising Calls

1. It is not permitted to send advertising messages or make advertising calls to telephone numbers listed in the No Advertisement List as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 7 of this Decree or to individuals who have previously declined to receive advertisements.

2. For advertising via messages and for telephone numbers outside the No Advertisement List, advertisers may only send one initial and unique registration advertisement message. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall provide detailed regulations on sending registration advertisement messages.

3. In cases where users refuse to receive advertisements or do not respond after receiving the first registration advertisement message, advertisers are not allowed to send any further registration advertisement messages or advertising messages to that telephone number.

4. The sending of advertising messages, email advertisements, or making advertising calls must be immediately ceased upon receipt of a refusal request from the user.

5. Each advertiser may not send more than three advertising messages to a single telephone number, three email advertisements to a single email address, or one advertising call to a single telephone number within twenty-four hours, except in cases where prior agreement has been reached with the user.

6. Advertising messages may only be sent between seven o'clock and twenty-two o'clock daily, and advertising calls may only be made between eight o'clock and seventeen o'clock daily, except in cases where prior agreement has been reached with the user.

7. The content of advertisements must comply with legal provisions regarding advertising.

8. Advertising messages and calls can only be sent after obtaining a designated name and it is prohibited to use telephone numbers to send advertising messages or make advertising calls.

Article 14. Requirements for Advertising Messages

1. Advertising messages must be labeled in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of this Decree.

2. In cases of advertising services with charges, full information about the cost must be provided.

3. There must be a function to refuse messages in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of this Decree.

Article 15. Requirements for Labeling Advertising Messages

1. All advertising messages must be labeled.

2. The label must be placed at the beginning of the message content.

3. The label format must be [QC] or [AD].

Article 16. Requirements for Refusal Function for Receiving Advertising Messages

1. The information allowing users to refuse to receive advertising messages must meet the following conditions:

a) Placed at the end of the advertising message and clearly displayed;

b) Must include instructions guiding users to refuse previously registered advertising messages;

c) In necessary cases, the advertiser may provide additional refusal options such as refusing a product or refusing a group of products;

d) Clear instructions on how to refuse according to points b and c of Clause 1 and the refusal methods according to Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The refusal form for receiving advertising messages must include:

a) Refusal by message;

b) Refusal by phone call.

3. Upon receipt of a refusal request, the advertiser must immediately send confirmation of receipt of the refusal request and cease sending the type of advertising message that was refused to the user.

4. Confirmation information must satisfy the following requirements:

a) Notification of receipt of the refusal request, time of receipt of the refusal request, and the time when sending advertising messages will stop;

b) Can only be successfully sent once and must not contain advertising information.

Article 17. Requirements for advertising emails

1. The subject must be appropriate to the content, and the advertising content must comply with the relevant laws on advertising.

2. Advertising emails must be labeled in accordance with Article 18 of this Decree.

3. Information about the Advertiser must be provided in accordance with Article 19 of this Decree.

4. In cases where advertising services that incur charges, full information about the service fees must be provided.

5. There must be a function to opt-out in accordance with Article 20 of this Decree.

Article 18. Labeling requirements for advertising emails

1. All advertising emails must be labeled.

2. The label must be placed at the beginning of the subject section.

3. The label format must be [QC] or [AD].

Article 19. Requirements for information of advertisers through emails

1. Information about the Advertiser includes name, phone number, email address, physical address, website/CMS address, social media address (if applicable).

2. Email advertiser information must be clearly displayed immediately before the section allowing the User to opt-out from receiving advertising emails.

Article 20. Requirements for the opt-out function for advertising emails

1. The information section allowing Users to opt-out from receiving advertising emails must meet the following conditions:

a) Placed at the end of the advertising email and clearly displayed;

b) Must include a statement affirming that the User has the right to refuse all products from the advertiser;

c) In necessary cases, the email advertiser must provide additional refusal options such as refusing a specific product or a group of products;

d) Clear instructions on the refusals under points b and c of Clause 1 and the forms of refusal as stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. Forms of opting out from receiving advertising emails must include:

a) Opting out via CMS/social media;

b) Opting out via email;

c) Opting out via telephone.

3. Upon receipt of an opt-out request, the Advertiser must immediately send confirmation of receipt of the opt-out request and must cease sending advertising emails to the User.

4. Confirmation information must satisfy the following requirements:

a) Include a statement confirming receipt of the opt-out request, the time of receipt of the opt-out request, and the date of cessation of sending advertising emails.

b) Can only be successfully sent once and must not contain advertising information.

Article 21. Requirements for advertising phone calls

1. All advertising phone calls must include complete information about the person making the call (including name, address) and must be introduced first before providing the advertising content. In cases where advertising services that incur charges, full information about the service fees must be provided.

2. If the User refuses to receive advertising phone calls, the Advertiser must immediately stop calling the User for advertising purposes.

Section 2
NATIONAL IDENTIFIER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

Article 22. National Identifier Management System

1. It is a system with functions to manage and store identifiers nationwide.

2. Any organization or individual can search for information about identifiers on the National Identifier Management System online at the address tendinhdanh.ais.gov.vn.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Agency) constructs and operates the National Identifier Management System.

Article 23. Provisions on the use of brandnames

1. The brandname (brandname) used by the sender in advertising activities through messages and telephone calls (hereinafter referred to as brandname) shall consist of no more than 11 consecutive characters using Latin letters, digits (from 0 to 9) or symbols (-), (), spaces; it shall not distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters; it shall not be solely composed of digits and shall be used to display or identify information about the source of the message.

2. All organizations and individuals have the right to register and use brandnames without limitation for the purpose of advertising through messages and telephone calls.

3. The brandname granted to organizations and individuals shall be unique within the National Brandname System issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) and shall have a validity period of three years from the date of issuance.

4. The registration and use of brandnames shall be carried out according to the following principles: equality, non-discrimination; prior registration grants prior use rights; avoiding confusion or misrepresentation due to homophones, homonyms, or the absence of tone marks in Vietnamese.

5. Organizations and individuals registering to use brandnames shall bear legal responsibility for the purpose of use, the accuracy of the registration information, and the authenticity of the documents and information in the registration dossier.

6. Organizations and individuals may not use brandnames that have not been issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) or have been issued to other organizations and individuals, except with permission from the organization or individual authorized to use the brandname, and they must not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals who have registered the brandname.

7. Organizations and individuals may not use brandnames after they have been revoked.

8. Organizations and individuals granted brandnames must pay fees as prescribed by laws on fees and charges and cover costs for maintaining the brandname operation as stipulated by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 24. Dossier for Application for Issuance of Brandname

The dossier for application for issuance of brandname includes:

1. For organizations

a) A certified copy of the Decision on Establishment of the organization or business registration certificate. In cases where an organization or business applies for multiple brandnames at once, only one business registration certificate or one certified decision on establishment of the organization needs to be provided;

b) A brandname registration form according to Form No. 01 attached to this Decree;

c) Other relevant documents related to intellectual property rights and trademark registration (if applicable).

2. For individuals

a) A certified copy of identity card or citizen identification card or passport;

b) A brandname registration form according to Form No. 01 attached to this Decree;

c) Other relevant documents related to intellectual property rights and trademark registration (if applicable).

Article 25. Methods of Submitting the Dossier for Application for Issuance of Brandname

The submission of the dossier for application for issuance of brandname shall be carried out through one of the following methods:

1. Submitting the paper dossier via postal service to the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration).

2. Submitting the dossier online at the National Brandname Management System at the website tendinhdanh.ais.gov.vn.

Article 26. Issuance of Certificate of Brandname

1. Upon receipt of the dossier, the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) shall confirm receipt of the dossier by sending an email or text message notification to the organization or individual submitting the application, specifying the date and time of receipt in the notification.

2. Within one working day from the date of receipt of the dossier, the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) shall examine the validity of the dossier and decide on one of the following cases:

a) Granting the brandname to the organization or individual and notifying them of the decision via email or text message. After the organization or individual pays the prescribed fee, the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) shall issue the brandname certificate according to Form No. 02 attached to this Decree via email;

b) Not granting the brandname to the organization or individual if the dossier is incomplete or requires clarification, in which case the organization or individual must supplement, explain, and resubmit the dossier in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree and notify the organization or individual of the reasons via email or text message.

Article 27. Reissuing the Domain Name Certificate

1. In cases where there is a change in one of the information related to the domain name that has been issued or if the Domain Name Certificate is lost, organizations and individuals must submit the updated domain name application form according to Form No. 01 attached as an appendix to this Decree to the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree.

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) will reissue the Domain Name Certificate in accordance with Article 26 of this Decree, maintaining the same validity period as the previously issued certificate.

Article 28. Extending the Domain Name Certificate

1. Extending the Domain Name Certificate means issuing a new Domain Name Certificate with a new validity period.

2. At least 15 days before the expiration date, organizations and individuals must submit the updated domain name application form according to Form No. 01 attached as an appendix to this Decree and related documents to the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) in accordance with Article 25 of this Decree.

3. The Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) will extend the Domain Name Certificate in accordance with Article 26 of this Decree. The domain name can be extended multiple times, with each extension lasting for three years.

Article 29. Revoking the Domain Name

1. The revocation of the domain name shall be carried out in the following cases:

a) Using the domain name to send spam messages or make spam calls or provide services that violate legal regulations, as concluded by competent state agencies;

b) Failing to pay the maintenance costs for the domain name beyond 30 days;

c) The domain name has expired and has not been renewed;

d) Upon request of the organization or individual using the domain name;

đ) Upon request of competent state agencies.

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center) will notify the revocation of the domain name and send it to the organization or individual via email or message, and publicly announce it on the website www.ais.gov.vn.

Section 3
REGULATIONS ON REPORTING SYSTEMS

Article 30. Reporting System

1. Organizations and individuals who have been granted a domain name are responsible for reporting annually according to Form No. 04 attached as an appendix to this Decree or at any time upon request of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center).

2. Telecommunications enterprises granted a domain name are responsible for reporting annually according to Form No. 05 attached as an appendix to this Decree or at any time upon request of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center).

3. Telecommunications enterprises providing messaging services are responsible for reporting annually according to Form No. 06 attached as an appendix to this Decree or at any time upon request of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center).

Article 31. Time and Form of Reporting

1. Reporting Time: Annual reports must be submitted before December 31 of the reporting year, with data cut-off from December 15 of the previous year to December 14 of the reporting year.

2. Reports (detailed information on how to report is published on the website of the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Cybersecurity Center)) should be submitted electronically to the email address [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) and updated in the National Domain Name Management System.

Chapter IV
ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS

Article 32. Supplement Point c, d, đ Clause 2; Point p, q, r, s Clause 4; Point e, g Clause 6, Clause 7a, Point c Clause 10 Article 94 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the postal, telecommunications, radio frequency, information technology, and electronic transactions sectors.

"Article 94. Violations related to email, messages, and telephone calls providing information about products and services.

2. A fine of VND 5,000,000 to VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

c) Making promotional calls to users without their clear consent;

d) Making promotional calls to users who have refused to receive such calls;

đ) Sending registration messages for promotions when the user has refused or not responded to registration messages for promotions.

4. A fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

p) Making more than one promotional call to one phone number within 24 hours without an agreement with the user;

q) Making promotional calls outside the hours from 08:00 to 17:00 each day without an agreement with the user;

r) Not having measures to verify the user's clear prior consent before sending promotional messages or emails;

s) Not providing users with tools to search or store agreements regarding the registration, refusal of promotional calls, and registration messages on their own electronic information portal or social media site for inspection, verification, and complaint resolution purposes.

6. A fine of VND 60,000,000 to VND 80,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

e) Sending registration messages for promotions that do not comply with the regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

g) Sending any registration messages for promotions to phone numbers listed in the No Promotion List.

7a. A fine of VND 80,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for sending promotional messages or making promotional calls to phone numbers listed in the No Promotion List.

10. Measures to address consequences:

c) Compel the recovery of phone numbers due to the violation of the provisions stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article."

Article 33. Supplement Point c, d, đ, e Clause 1; Point e Clause 2; Point I, m, n, o Clause 3, Clause 3a, Clause 3b, Clause 4a Article 95 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the postal, telecommunications, radio frequency, information technology, and electronic transactions sectors.

"Article 95. Violations concerning the provision of email, message, and promotional call services, and content services via messages.

1. A fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

c) Not providing tools or applications allowing users to proactively block spam emails and report spam emails;

d) Not having measures to block, filter, update lists of sources of spam emails or not having solutions to prevent loss and block spam emails from users;

đ) Not monitoring, controlling, and reviewing their email server systems to ensure they do not become sources of spam emails;

e) Not reporting and statistically summarizing according to the regulations of competent state agencies.

2. A fine of VND 20,000,000 to VND 30,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

e) Not building, updating, providing, and sharing blacklists of IP addresses/domain names spreading spam emails for common use with the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) and other telecommunications and Internet enterprises.

3. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed for any of the following acts:

1) Not providing users with tools and applications to report spam messages and calls and allow users to proactively block spam messages and calls;

m) Not providing, updating, and sharing common models of spam messages for the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) and other telecommunications enterprises;

n) Not blocking or filtering IP addresses/domain names under their management that spread or are misused to spread spam emails;

0) Not implementing measures to assess the status of spam messages and calls on their telecommunications network.

3a. A fine of VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed for using domain names not issued by the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration) or already issued to other organizations or individuals without permission from the organization or individual authorized to use the domain name or using the domain name after it has been revoked.

3b. A fine of VND 70,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for using domain names to send spam messages or provide services violating laws as concluded by competent state agencies.

4a. A fine of VND 140,000,000 to VND 170,000,000 shall be imposed for the following acts:

a) Not implementing measures to block promotional messages and calls to the No Promotion List;

b) Not blocking or recovering email addresses used to disseminate spam messages, emails, and calls upon request of competent state agencies;

c) Not building and operating technical systems to prevent and block spam messages, emails, and calls;

d) Not connecting their technical management systems for domain names to the National Domain Name Management System;

đ) Not implementing coordination tasks to prevent and handle spam emails and calls and other business measures as required by the Ministry of Information and Communications (National Information Security Administration)."

Article 34. Supplement Point e and Point g Clause 2 Article 120 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequency spectrum, information technology, and electronic transactions.

"Article 120. Delimitation of penalty authority

2. People's Public Security:

e) The Director of the Provincial Public Security has the authority to impose administrative penalties as stipulated in Clause 7a, Article 32 of this Decree;

g) The Director of the Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Bureau, the Director of the Social Order Crime Investigation Bureau, the Director of the Corruption, Economic and Smuggling Crime Investigation Bureau, the Director of the Administrative Management of Social Order Bureau, the Director of the Drug Crime Investigation Bureau, the Director of the Internal Political Security Bureau, and the Director of the Economic Security Bureau have the authority to impose administrative penalties as stipulated in Clause 7a, Article 32 of this Decree."

Chapter V
IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 35. Effective Date

1. This Decree takes effect from October 1, 2020.

2. This Decree replaces Decree No. 90/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 13, 2008 of the Government on combating spam mail, and Decree No. 77/2012/NĐ-CP dated October 5, 2012 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 90/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 13, 2008 of the Government on combating spam mail.

Article 36. Transitional Provisions

Within ninety days from the date this Decree takes effect, telecommunications enterprises shall be responsible for transferring the files (electronic copies) of the registered identifiers to the Ministry of Information and Communications (Cybersecurity Department).

Within one hundred eighty days from the date this Decree takes effect, the Ministry of Information and Communications (Cybersecurity Department) shall publish a list of legitimate identifiers based on the examination of the files provided by telecommunications enterprises. Identifiers that are not included in the list of legitimate identifiers must go through the procedure to apply for new identifiers according to Articles 24, 25, and 26 of this Decree.

Within ninety days from the date this Decree takes effect, the Ministry of Information and Communications (Cybersecurity Department) shall be responsible for transferring the system for receiving complaints about spam messages on the number 456 to the new complaint reception system on the number 5656.

As for the provision in Article 33 regarding the supplementation of Clause 3a and Clause 3b of Article 95 of Decree No. 15/2020/NĐ-CP dated February 3, 2020 of the Government on administrative penalties for violations in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequency spectrum, information technology, and electronic transactions, it will be applied from March 1, 2021.

Article 37. Implementation

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications within its functions and powers shall be responsible for guiding the implementation of this Decree.

2. The Ministry of Public Security shall be responsible for coordinating with the Ministry of Information and Communications in the work of preventing and combating activities of sending messages, emails, making calls with fraudulent, harassing, malicious software dissemination, harmful software, or violating prohibited contents as stipulated by law.

Article 38. Responsibility for Implementation

The Minister, the Head of the equivalent ministry, the Head of the government agency, the Chairman of the People's Committee of provinces and centrally governed cities, and related organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree./

APPLICATION FORM ... (1) IDENTIFIER NAME

Based on Decree No. 120/2020/NĐ-CP dated ... month ... year 2020 of the Government on combating spam messages, spam emails, and spam calls.

... (2) requests to be granted ... (1) identifier name with the following contents:

Part 1: General Information

6. Individual, Organization/Enterprise registering 7. Manager of the domain name (must be an individual)

Part 2. Supporting Documents

Part 3. Commitments

…(2) hereby commits:

1. To bear legal responsibility for the accuracy and legality of the content in the application for registration …(1) domain name and accompanying documents.

2. To bear sole legal responsibility for the purpose of use and accuracy of the provided information, ensuring compliance with regulations on domain name registration and usage, and not infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of other organizations.

3. To promptly update information related to the domain name whenever there is a change.

4. If granted …(1) domain name, …(2) will strictly comply with Vietnamese laws regarding the use of domain names, SMS advertising, telephone calls, and other relevant regulations./.

*Note:

1. Issuing/reissuing/extension.

2. Name of Individual, organization/enterprise.

3. In case an organization or enterprise authorizes another entity to register, both parties shall prepare a Power of Attorney according to Model No. 03.

Form No. 02

Implementation Report of Production Projects of Supporting Industry Products Confirmed with Incentives

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

Independence - Freedom - Happiness

-----------------------------

POWER OF ATTORNEY

Based on the Civil Code of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Pursuant to current constitutional documents.

..., on the date ..., we include: 1. The Authorizing Party:

Representing Company..., located at..., business registration certificate number...

2. The Authorized Party:

Representing Company..., located at..., business registration certificate number...

3. Content of Authorization:

To carry out procedures for registering domain names with the Ministry of Information and Communications (Cybersecurity Administration).

4. Term of Authorization:

From the date ..., month ..., year ..., to the date ..., month ..., year ..., 5. Commitment

Both parties commit to fully bear legal responsibility for all authorized information above.

Any disputes arising between the authorizing party and the authorized party shall be resolved by the parties themselves.

This power of attorney is made in ..., each party retains ....

Form number 04

PERIODIC REPORT OF ORGANIZATIONS AND INDIVIDUALS ISSUED DOMAIN NAMES
DOMAIN NAME

(Reporting period from .../.../20... to .../.../20...)

Respectfully submitted to: Cybersecurity Administration, Ministry of Information and Communications.

Name of enterprise/organization, individual: ...

1. Total revenue and growth rate from advertising services using domain names during the reporting period

Total revenue during the reporting period: ...

Growth rate compared to the previous reporting period ...

2. Total revenue and growth rate from content services using domain names during the reporting period

Growth rate compared to the previous reporting period ...

3. Summary statistics on the use of domain names

a) For SMS advertising

b) For call advertising

4. Recommendations:

REPRESENTATIVE WITH AUTHORITY OF ORGANIZATION, INDIVIDUAL
(Signature, full name, stamp (if any))

Form number 05

PERIODIC REPORT OF TELECOMMUNICATION ENTERPRISES
ISSUED DOMAIN NAME

(Reporting period from .../20... to .../20...)

Respectfully submitted to: Cybersecurity Administration, Ministry of Information and Communications.

1. Total revenue and growth rate from advertising services using domain names during the reporting period

Total revenue during the reporting period: ...

Growth rate compared to the previous reporting period: ...

2. Statistics on the number of domain names used (generating SMS traffic, call traffic)

Total number of domain names declared in the system: ...

Total number of domain names generating SMS traffic...

Total number of domain names generating call traffic:...

3. Summary statistics on the use of domain names

4. Summary statistics on the use of domain names by product/service

5. Statistics on SMS rates using domain names

Note: The columns Increase/Decrease show the percentage increase/decrease compared to the previous reporting period. A plus sign (+) indicates an increase, a minus sign (-) indicates a decrease; an advertising campaign is a sample advertisement message, call, representing an advertising program.

6. Recommendations

AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ENTERPRISE

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM

Independence - Freedom - Happiness

-----------------------------

NAME OF ENTERPRISE

PERIODIC REPORT ON SMS
FOR TELECOMMUNICATION ENTERPRISES

(Reporting period from .../20... to .../20...)

Respectfully submitted to: Cybersecurity Administration, Ministry of Information and Communications.

Enterprise name: ...Address: ...

1. Summary statistics on SMS exchange during the reporting period

2. Summary statistics on spam SMS during the reporting period

Note: The columns Increase/Decrease show the percentage increase/decrease compared to the previous year. A plus sign (+) indicates an increase, a minus sign (-) indicates a decrease.

(1) SMS sent to subscribers of telecommunication enterprises.

(2) SMS sent from subscribers of telecommunication enterprises.

3. Recommendations

(Signature, full name, stamp)