On March 1 2026, Vietnam’s AI Law officially took effect, after being passed during the National Assembly’s 10th session in December 2025. From that, Vietnam has become the first country in Southeast Asia, and among a handful of countries globally, alongside the EU, South Korea and Japan to establish a legal framework for the use of artificial intelligence.
This new law aims to promote artificial intelligence as “a key driver of growth, innovation and sustainable development.” Key features include labelling AI-generated content, evaluating AI risk, and introducing a new AI information centre and database.
A law aimed to encourage AI growth
As AI advances rapidly, bringing both significant benefits and risks, the debate of how to regulate this technology has been raised among policymakers.
In practice, only a handful of countries have introduced formal legal frameworks for the use of AI, including South Korea, Japan and the European Union. Most other countries prioritise a softer approach, which focuses on voluntary guidelines and ethical standards.
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Four key features of Vietnam’s AI Law
The Artificial Intelligence Law (No. 134/2025/QH15), which officially took effect on March 1, 2026, consists of eight chapters and 35 articles. Several key provisions include:
Labelling AI content
Article 11 sets out clear transparency requirements for the development and use of AI. Under the provision, all audio, images and videos generated by AI must carry machine-readable labels to distinguish them from authentic content. The measure is seen as an important step toward preventing the spread of deepfakes. The law does not yet specify detailed penalties or enforcement measures.
AI risk evaluation system
Under Article 9, AI systems are classified into three risk levels, each subject to different regulatory requirements.
- High-risk AI refers to systems that could potentially cause significant harm to human life, health, human rights, national security or the public interest. They are subject to the strictest monitoring.
- Medium-risk AI includes systems that may mislead or manipulate users, particularly when individuals are unaware that they are interacting with artificial intelligence, and could influence users’ behaviour
- Low-risk AI refers to systems that do not fall into the two categories above, typically simple support tools or applications with limited impact
Read more https://vietcetera.com/en/vietnam-is-the-first-south-east-asian-country-to-pass-an-ai-law
