The Ministry of Information and Communications can issue specialized electronic signature certificates.

On the morning of May 30, the National Assembly discussed the draft Law on Electronic Transactions (amended). At the 4th session, the National Assembly discussed this draft law, with 77 National Assembly deputies speaking in groups and 15 National Assembly deputies speaking in the hall.

The majority of National Assembly deputies agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law on Electronic Transactions (ETL) and agreed with many contents. After receiving and revising, the draft law consists of 7 chapters and 54 articles.

The majority of opinions agreed with the expansion of the scope of regulation and not applying some exemptions. Some opinions agreed with the expansion of the scope of regulation but suggested considering the implementation roadmap to ensure feasibility. Some opinions suggested limiting the scope of the expansion to the fields of land, inheritance, divorce, marriage, birth registration, etc.

The National Assembly Standing Committee said that, according to the Government's submission, the expansion of the scope of regulation as stipulated in the draft law is based on technical and technological infrastructure. Vietnam is now ready, ensuring safety and reliability. Agencies, organizations and individuals participating in transactions have the right to choose technology, electronic means, etc.

At the same time, the draft law has added regulations on data messages, electronic signatures and trusted services in e-commerce, conclusion and implementation of electronic contracts, e-commerce in state agencies... to have a legal basis to guide e-commerce in accordance with the scope of the law.

Vietnam's practice shows that some areas excluded from the scope of the 2005 Law on Education and Training have been partially implemented for education and training, such as: Birth registration and marriage registration, which have online public services in many localities...

Online public services provided by ministries, branches and localities are being actively deployed towards closing the entire service process from start to finish (full process). Furthermore, digital transformation is being promoted in all socio-economic fields according to the guidelines and policies of the Party and State.

Many countries have similar conditions to Vietnam and some other countries do not limit the scope of regulation in the law; some countries only stipulate some areas of exclusion from the application of GDĐT in sub-law documents to easily change when conditions permit.

Regarding prohibited acts in e-commerce, there are opinions suggesting clearly defining the prohibited act of "Obstructing legal activities or supporting illegal activities in e-commerce".

The National Assembly Standing Committee has directed the review, revision and supplementation of valid opinions of National Assembly Deputies to ensure completeness and clarity of prohibited acts and to be expressed as in the draft Law.

Regarding the proposal to add the prohibited act of “Disclosing or leaking personal information without permission or agreement with organizations and individuals conducting electronic transactions”, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly finds that this content has been regulated in laws such as: Law on Information Technology, Law on Network Information Security, Law on Network Security... Therefore, we request not to add the above prohibited act to the draft law.

3 types of electronic signatures

There are suggestions to clarify the content of digital signatures and electronic signatures; to clarify whether OTP, SMS or biometrics are electronic signatures?

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly said that currently, forms of transaction authentication codes via electronic messages (SMS), one-time password confirmation (OTP), OTP Token, biometrics, electronic user identification (eKYC)... are used relatively commonly in e-commerce.

Hanoi residents register for free digital signatures. Photo: Hanoi People's Committee

However, these forms are only considered electronic signatures when logically combined with a data message, capable of confirming the subject signing the data message and confirming that subject's approval of the content of the signed data message as prescribed in the draft law.

In response to the opinions of National Assembly deputies, the draft law has revised the content explaining the terms "Digital signature" and "Electronic signature".

In addition, the draft law has classified electronic signatures according to the scope of use in 3 forms: specialized electronic signatures; public digital signatures and specialized digital signatures for public service to apply to subjects with different needs.

Some opinions suggested considering the need to register specialized electronic signatures with the Ministry of Information and Communications when they are used, while these electronic signatures are only used internally within the organization. Some opinions suggested that specific requirements for specialized electronic signatures could be made instead of having to register and seek approval. Some opinions suggested detailed regulations on the registration of specialized electronic signatures.

The Standing Committee of the National Assembly finds that specialized electronic signatures are created and used exclusively by agencies and organizations for the activities of those agencies and organizations in accordance with their functions and tasks, and are not allowed to provide specialized electronic signature services. Specialized electronic signatures must meet the technical standards and regulations on electronic signatures as prescribed.

The draft law does not stipulate that specialized electronic signatures must be registered with the Ministry of Information and Communications. However, agencies and organizations have the right to request a certificate of eligibility to ensure the security of specialized electronic signatures to confirm the legal value of their specialized electronic signatures.

To clarify this content, the draft law has added the following direction: "In case an organization uses a specialized electronic signature to transact with an external organization or individual or needs to recognize a specialized electronic signature to ensure safety, it must register with the Ministry of Information and Communications to be granted a certificate of specialized electronic signature to ensure safety".

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