Vietnam’s enactment of the Law on Artificial Intelligence, which took effect on Sunday, represents a significant regulatory development in Southeast Asia. This legislative framework aligns closely with the European Union’s AI Act, aiming to ensure accountability and transparency in response to complexities arising from AI technologies like copyright issues, misinformation, and deepfakes. As part of this initiative, the Vietnamese government is setting the stage for enhanced AI development by creating a national AI development fund to boost investments in data centers and research capabilities. The Ministry of Science and Technology is tasked with steering this effort while also managing a national AI database to register and oversee AI applications.
The Vietnamese law, while inspired by the EU’s approach, emphasizes digital sovereignty more heavily and aims to bolster national AI capabilities, prioritizing these over international collaboration. However, similar to Europe’s strategy, it includes a tiered risk classification system for AI technologies. At the upper end of this scale is a categorical ban on AI uses perceived as systematic threats to national security or human dignity, such as non-consensual facial recognition or harmful deepfakes. At the other end are applications like spam filters, deemed low risk and minimally invasive. More details on these legislative efforts can be found here.
This legislative action supersedes earlier provisions outlined in Vietnam’s 2025 Law on Digital Technology Industry and reflects the government’s aspiration to centralize oversight and compliance processes for AI development. The focus on AI and semiconductor industries highlights Vietnam’s ambition to establish itself as a key technological player in the region, seeking to penetrate new markets and drive innovation.
Furthermore, Vietnam’s AI law arrives as nations worldwide grapple with setting regulatory standards for AI, underlining a growing consensus that robust legal frameworks are essential to manage the rapid advancements in technology responsibly. This move underscores Vietnam’s commitment to integrating internationally recognized best practices while fostering indigenous technological growth.