Regulations of Radio and Television Services in Vietnam

What Changes in Decree 71/2022/ND-CP  on Regulations of Radio and Television Services in Vietnam?

Along with the strong development of the Internet is an increase in people’s demand for using television services on the Internet instead of the traditional methods. Television services on the Internet providing domestic and foreign programs, movies, etc. have brought a significant source of revenue for domestic and foreign enterprises providing radio and television services. However, to ensure legal fairness for domestic enterprises as well as foreign enterprises doing business in providing this service to users, on October 1^st, 2022, the Government issued Decree 71/2022/ND-CP amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 06/2016/ND-CP dated January 18^th, 2016 on management, provision and use of radio and television services. The promulgated Decree has added new regulations on the management of domestic and foreign enterprises providing radio and television services, or in other words, changes in broadcast law in Vietnam. Specific details should be advised by media and entertainment lawyers in Vietnam however this write-up expects to provide some update on the development of regulations in this area.

As for management policies, the Decree stipulates the management of the provision and use of radio and television services in Vietnam, including radio and television services on the Internet, or across borders to users in the territory of Vietnam. Accordingly, foreign enterprises providing across borders radio and television services in Vietnam must be managed and comply with the provisions of Vietnam law.

For internet radio and television services (OTT TV), enterprises can choose from two service delivery models: (i) OTT TV provides both online channels and on-demand content (VOD) and (ii) OTT TV only provides VOD (OTT TV VOD). For OTT TV VOD service, enterprises are not required to provide program channels like traditional services and only needed to make a declaration according to the form of the Ministry of Information and Communications, instead of having to make a scheme as previously required to apply for a license to provide paid radio and television services. This regulation creates favorable conditions for domestic enterprises with the same technical conditions as foreign enterprises to participate in providing radio and television services on demand on the internet. Foreign enterprises wishing to participate in the market must also carry out the procedures for applying for a license like domestic enterprises.

The next highlight of Decree No. 71/2022/ND-CP is the addition of regulations on editing, classifying and translating radio and television content on demand (VOD). Enterprises are allowed to actively edit and classify VOD content as movies, sports and entertainment programs when meeting the conditions and criteria as prescribed by competent agencies which previously, according to the provisions of Decree No. 06/2016/ND-CP, all VOD content must be edited by a press agency with a radio and television license before being provided on the service. Accordingly, this content is divided into 03 groups to perform as follows:

(i) For news and current affairs programs; programs on politics, national defense, security, economy, and society must be produced and edited by a press agency that has licensed to operate radio and television before being provided on the service;

(ii) For films: Before providing services, enterprises must ensure conditions for the classification of films according to the Government’s regulations and take responsibility to the law for the content and results of film classification according to the classification criteria prescribed by the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; In case enterprises have not yet met conditions for classification of films, it is requesting the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism or an agency authorized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to classify films that have not been granted a Film Classification License or a Broadcast Decision;

(iii) For sports and entertainment programs: Enterprises must edit and classify before providing them on the service and display warnings while providing services, ensuring that they do not commit violations against regulations of Vietnam law. Enterprises shall work on the principles of editing, classifying, and warning content in accordance with regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications and relevant laws to carry out editing and classification activities.

Regarding regulations on translation management, enterprises are allowed to take the initiative in translation activities. The translation of foreign programs and channels, enterprises must respect and preserve the purity of the Vietnam language, and ensure that they do not violate the prohibitions according to the provisions of Vietnam law.

In addition to supplementing regulations on management policies, Decree 71/2022/ND-CP has added regulations to reduce administrative procedures, and orient online application components to reduce costs for enterprises providing radio and television services. Accordingly, enterprises that wish to apply for a license i.e. a license to provide paid radio and television services, amend or supplement the content of the license, or re-issue the license, only need to prepare set of 01 (a) dossier (previously two sets, 01 sets of originals, 01 sets of copies) and can submit online on the online public service portal of the Ministry of Information and Communications for cases which electronic authentication certification is available. In addition, the processing time for the above procedures and documents are also significantly shortened, creating favorable conditions for enterprises when carrying out administrative procedures quickly, ensuring that the business operations are not affected.

Decree No. 71/2022/ND-CP officially took effect on January 1^st, 2023.

ANT Lawyers, as a reliable law firm in Vietnam, we focus on providing possible solutions that best meet the needs of legal and business clients. We help customers achieve their goals while protecting their interests, minimizing risks, and complying with the law.

Tell us how we can be of service and one of our team members will contact you. Email: ant@antlawyers.vn, Tel: +84 28 730 86 529.

Source ANTLawyers: https://antlawyers.vn/library/regulations-of-radio-and-television-services-in-vietnam.html

Source: ANT Lawyers.vn

Read More

Telecommunications, Media & Technology (TMT) Services in Vietnam

ANT Lawyers assist clients to operate with compliance or look for opportunities to enter the market. In Telecommunications, Media & Technology (TMT) practice, our lawyers assist clients in commercial matters, corporate M&A and other transactions, regulatory issues, system integration, software development and licensing, IT services including outsourcing, software & technology agreements, data protection, intellectual property, disputes resolutions.

 Telecommunications, Media & Technology Services in Vietnam

Our customers include telecom network operators and service providers, producers, software and hardware technology companies, outsourcing companies and e-commerce companies, internet companies, media and entertainment companies.

Some highlight matters include:

KDDI, a Japan telecom company, which we assist on various ongoing matters in Vietnam.

SECUREMETRIC, a Malaysian company providing digital security solutions in Vietnam, which we assist the Malaysian holding company to be listed on the Bursa Securities, advised the procedures for the local entity to be complied, conducted licensing procedures on behalf of the Client and drafted share purchase agreement for execution and carried out the process to change the ERC, IRC of the company in Vietnam under the name of the new owner with strict requirement to meet deadline for listing;

VIETFIBER, a foreign owned company with investors from Turkey manufacturing telecom equipment in Long An City, Vietnam, which we reviewed the shareholder agreements, Share Purchase Agreement, and advised procedures to complete the transfer of capital contribution from current shareholder to new investor and register with authority in Vietnam;

An Eastern European Technology company, which we advised telecommunications, media intellectual property laws on Personal Data Protection, Data Localization, and Copyrights infringement matters for their project to deliver service in Vietnam and online mobile stores in launching a personal content feed offering to users with a personalized news feed, with news items linking to a news story available on a third-party website, as well as a headline and small fragment of a news story and an accompanying image, embedded videos, the video content itself hosted on a third party website.

A Chinese Entertainment company, which we advised the client on the legal risks and compliance plan to launch a music application, an online music software providing functions of singing, recording, and uploading the songs etc, along with intelligent scoring, professional mixing, online interaction and social sharing. The advice cover areas of intellectual property permissions (including complete audio, words, music, accompaniment, music clips, etc.) on UGC (User-generated Content) or PGC (Professionally-generated Content), User License Agreement, the copyright and related rights collective management organization system including: The Vietnam Literary Copyright Center (VLCC); The Recording Industry Association of Vietnam (RIAV); The Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC) and The Vietnam Reproduction Rights Organization (VIETPRO) whom exercise copyright licensing service, collect and distribute of royalties to the authors and rights holders whom authorized to them.

ANT Lawyers - a Law firm for TMT in Vietnam with international standard, local expertise and strong international network. We focus on customers’ needs and provide clients with a high quality legal advice and services. For advice or serive request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529

Let ANT Lawyers help your business in Vietnam.

 

 

 

Read More