A new legislative proposal aims to assign a state-managed digital identity to nearly every physical asset, digital property, and transaction in Việt Nam.
The Latest: The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) is proposing an expansion of digital tracking through the draft Law on Electronic Identification and Authentication, which is open for public comment from July 13 to Aug. 2, 2026.
- The MPS wants to move beyond identifying agencies, organizations, and individuals by creating “electronic identities” that collect, identify, and link data on assets, locations, spaces, transactions, and conduct associated with each person and organization online.
The Details: The proposed bill establishes five groups of “entities” that would be subject to electronic identification:
- Agencies, organizations and individuals
- Physical objects, including products, goods, equipment, assets and other material items
- Nonphysical entities, including data, applications, property rights, digital assets and intangible cultural heritage
- Events, transactions and conduct
- Locations and spaces
According to Clause 1, Article 3 of the draft, once identified, this information would be linked to form an “electronic identity” within the national identification system, allowing authorities to “uniquely identify that entity in the electronic environment.”
- These electronic identities would be continuously developed through what the bill calls “electronic identification activities.”
According to Clause 3, Article 9, for entities in groups one, two, and five, identifying information must be “linked to the electronic identity of the entity’s owner or lawful manager.”
- This linkage becomes mandatory when the entity is involved in a transaction or legal procedure.
- Furthermore, under Clause 4, Article 9, for “events, conduct and transactions,” the identifying information must be “linked to the electronic identities of all participating parties.”
- It would also be connected to information regarding when and where the activity occurred and the surrounding context.
The Background: The proposed Law on Electronic Identification and Authentication was not included in the National Assembly’s original legislative agenda. However, acting on a proposal from the MPS, the government issued Resolution No. 125 on May 11, 2026, seeking to add the bill to the legislature’s agenda.
- In its submission supporting the bill, the ministry argues that the existing Decree No. 69 has “not provided a sufficient legal basis for expanding the scope, entities, and models of electronic identification and authentication.”
- Consequently, the ministry is proposing legislation with greater legal authority.
Why It Matters: The MPS states that the bill is intended to connect the identification of “entities existing in both physical and electronic environments.”
- By legally binding physical items, virtual assets, and human conduct to state-managed electronic identities, the legislation would enable the direct management of transactions and administrative relationships across digital spaces.
Hoàng Nam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 23, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
