Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security, Lương Tam Quang, has presented a draft Law on Electronic Identification and Authentication to the National Assembly. The bill would prohibit the use of fake biometric data and artificially generated images to create or falsify electronic identities, and would extend electronic identification beyond people to goods, data and transactions.
The draft was tabled during the second plenary session of the 16th National Assembly. It has eight chapters and 46 articles, covering electronic identification, authentication, a national identification and authentication system, service provision, international cooperation, and rights and responsibilities.
Quang said expanding identification from individuals to a broader range of entities was an urgent requirement. The draft lists five groups that could receive electronic identities: agencies, organizations and individuals; products, goods and physical assets; databases, digital files, images, audio, video, applications, software and digital services; events, transactions and acts; and locations and spaces.
The national system would include a National Database on Electronic Identification and Authentication, an identification and authentication platform, the national identification app VNeID, a system for managing the validity of electronic identities and certificates, and a national portal. The bill sets out three authentication models, centralized, intermediary and independent, and would require electronic identities to be linked and authenticated for digital-platform transactions in certain sectors.
Companies seeking to provide identification and authentication services would have to meet requirements on legal status, financial capacity, technical systems, specialized staff, user data protection, cybersecurity and liability insurance. Identification and authentication activities would be recorded, traceable and auditable. The draft also provides a legal basis for mutual recognition of foreign electronic identities in cross-border transactions.
According to the proposal, the law would help prevent cybercrime, eliminate anonymous SIM cards and fake accounts, and counter AI-enabled biometric impersonation. Vietnam’s electronic identification framework is currently set by decree, most recently through expanded electronic ID rules that took effect in September.
The National Assembly’s Committee on National Defence, Security and External Affairs said the law would consolidate existing regulations and address shortcomings in implementation, but raised concerns about personal data protection, the feasibility of identifying a wider range of entities, and the technical and financial resources required. Some members said the scope was too broad and called for a clearer line between entities that must be identified and those that would only be encouraged to do so.
Sources: Viet Nam News
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
