Vietnam Discusses Draft Amendments to Internet and Online Information Management Regulations

On the afternoon of July 23 in Hanoi, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized a workshop to solicit feedback on the draft amendments to certain articles of Government Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of Internet services and information online. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Phan Tam chaired the workshop. Speaking at the workshop, Deputy Minister Phan Tam stated that the amendments to Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP aim to further perfect the legal framework for managing, providing, and using Internet services and online information, meeting the development requirements of the digital economy and the emergence of new service models. The draft also seeks to promote administrative procedure reform, enhance decentralization and delegation of authority, improve the efficiency of state management, and create favorable conditions for innovation activities and business development. According to the drafting committee, the draft decree focuses on amending and supplementing six major policy groups. These include cutting administrative procedures in the Internet and video game sectors; strengthening regulations for child protection in the online environment; perfecting the account authentication mechanism for social media and video games; adding policies to encourage the development of Vietnam's video game industry; completing the legal framework for new digital platform models; and supplementing regulations on the management of esports (electronic sports). At the workshop, delegates exchanged and contributed many opinions on the draft's contents, focusing on ensuring the consistency of the legal system, creating a transparent and equal legal environment for businesses, enhancing the effectiveness of state management, and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of users in the online environment. In his concluding remarks, Deputy Minister Phan Tam emphasized that the consistent viewpoint of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is to build a clear, transparent, and stable legal corridor that is suitable for the development of the digital space. He also highlighted a strong shift from a pre-inspection method to risk management, combining detection, prevention, and handling of violations based on the application of technology and data. The Deputy Minister requested the drafting committee to fully incorporate the feedback to further refine the draft decree, contributing to building a safe and healthy digital environment and promoting the development of the digital economy and the digital content industry in Vietnam.