Decree 330/2026 adds “instructing” others how to circumvent online blocks to the list of administrative cybersecurity violations for the first time, threatening hefty fines even as the public remains in the dark about which websites are legally restricted.
The Latest: On Aug. 19, the government issued Decree No. 330/2026, governing administrative penalties in cybersecurity and personal data protection.
- The decree, which contains four chapters and 82 articles, took effect the same day.
Fines for Individuals and Organizations: Point p, Clause 1 of Article 15, imposes fines of between 10 million and 20 million đồng (approximately $380 – $765) on individuals who “instruct or share methods for accessing websites, applications, or digital platforms whose accessibility has been restricted in accordance with the law.”
- Organizations committing the same violation face double the penalty — between 20 million and 40 million đồng — under Clause 1 of Article 7.
Violators may also have items and tools used in the offense confiscated under Clause 3 of Article 15 and be ordered to remove or delete the information under Point a, Clause 4 of Article 15.
- Commune police chiefs and chairpersons of commune-level People’s Committees may fine organizations up to 100 million đồng and individuals up to 50 million đồng for cybersecurity violations under Articles 72 and 73, granting them sufficient authority to impose the full range of penalties under this provision.
Fines for ISPs: Decree 330 also tightens requirements for internet service providers.
Point c, Clause 3 of Article 12 imposes fines of between 30 million and 50 million đồng for “failing to implement or maintain technical measures requested by a competent state agency to prevent access to unlawful websites, applications, platforms, or domain names, thereby allowing users in Việt Nam to continue accessing them.”
- Point d of the same clause imposes identical fines of between 30 million and 50 million đồng on companies that fail to “invest in, update and upgrade their technical systems” to “minimize the ability to access” blocked websites.
In other words, internet service providers can be fined if their blocking measures fail, while users can be fined for helping each other get around those measures.
The Background: Controlling cyberspace has been one of the Ministry of Public Security’s highest priorities in recent years; the ministry has repeatedly blocked websites and social media posts entirely or restricted their visibility in Việt Nam.
- On Aug. 13, the Bàn Tròn Chính Trị Việt Nam Facebook page announced that the Ministry of Public Security had asked Facebook to block three of its posts about Nguyễn Sỹ Cương.
- Earlier, a series of Threads posts alleging that Nguyễn Sỹ Cương caused a traffic crash had been blocked in Việt Nam at the request of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
- That same morning, a Luật Khoa report titled “Nguyễn Sỹ Cương Becomes a Social Media Phenomenon on Threads,” posted to Facebook on Aug. 12, was also restricted in Việt Nam at the Ministry of Public Security’s request.
- In July, numerous Threads and Facebook users said their posts about the Làng Vân project had been removed.
Previously, no provision specifically penalized the use of VPNs or changes to Domain Name System, or DNS, settings to access blocked websites; this had been regarded as a legal gap.
- In October 2025, Tuổi Trẻ wrote that “Vietnamese law does not prohibit the use of VPNs, but users must still comply with cybersecurity and intellectual property regulations.”
- A 2020 analysis by Luật Khoa similarly concluded that “circumventing firewalls to access information websites does not violate Vietnamese law and certainly cannot be considered unlawful under international standards.”
Why It Matters: Decree 330 establishes specific penalties for “instructing” others or “sharing methods” to circumvent online access restrictions for the first time.
- However, a major issue remains unclear: no government agency or legal document has published a list of blocked websites. Nor have authorities released the individual decisions ordering particular sites to be blocked.
- Meanwhile, the public cannot know which websites have been blocked “in accordance with the law” and should therefore be avoided.
How to Bypass Internet Firewalls: People in Việt Nam typically download commonly used VPN applications such as Proton VPN, 1.1.1.1, or NordVPN and connect through a location outside Việt Nam.
- This may allow them to access certain websites or posts that have been blocked.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 27, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
