Cybersecurity
Vietnam Forces Facebook and Google to Pick Privacy or Growth
- 2019 law will require data localization and government access
- That measure could hurt Vietnam’s growing digital economy
This article is for subscribers only.
Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law could force Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. to choose between access to one of Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies and protecting their users’ privacy.
The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1 after the National Assembly passed it this month, requires foreign internet companies to store data within the country and open local offices. If requested, they’ll also be required to hand over to the government the data of users suspected of anti-state activity -- including spreading news that may impede Hanoi or hurt the economy.