E-Commerce Law Project: Need for separate law on information security

According to National Assembly member Hoang Quoc Khanh (Lai Chau), recently there has been a situation where people order online today, then tomorrow someone calls and asks to pay a delivery fee of only 20,000 - 30,000 and commits fraud, the cause of which is information leakage. Therefore, the draft Law on E-commerce needs to have a separate law on information security to overcome this situation.

Potential risk of trade secret infringement

On the afternoon of November 3, the National Assembly discussed in groups: the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Statistics, the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Prices and the draft Law on E-commerce.

Discussing in Group 4 (including the National Assembly delegations of Khanh Hoa , Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces) on the draft Law on E-commerce, the delegates basically agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law.

National Assembly Delegate Trieu Thi Huyen ( Lao Cai ) commented, Article 15 on the responsibility of the owner of the intermediary e-commerce platform, Point c Clause 7 states: " provide the state management agency upon request with transaction data, algorithm description including design explanation, logic, features, simulation directly related to acts with signs of violating the law ".

National Assembly Delegate Trieu Thi Huyen (Lao Cai) speaks. Photo: Ho Long

Expressing agreement and sharing with the Drafting Committee's goal of increasing transparency, preventing algorithm manipulation, and protecting consumers, however, delegates said that this provision poses a potential risk of violating trade secrets because algorithms are core assets of businesses.

Citing the Audit Report, "If the scope and security mechanism are not clearly defined, this regulation may affect intellectual property rights and the investment environment", delegates suggested that this regulation should be revised.

Specifically, algorithm descriptions are only required when there is a clear legal basis for signs of violation; implementation is allowed through independent auditing organizations or technical appraisals designated by the management agency; and at the same time, additional regulations on the management agency's confidentiality obligations for collected information are added. Such regulations are to ensure a balance between management requirements and protection of technological secrets.

Delegates of Lao Cai delegation participated in the discussion at Group 4 on the afternoon of November 3. Photo: Ho Long

Regarding the responsibility of the organization providing technical infrastructure services supporting e-commerce activities (Article 31), the draft Law states: As soon as possible from the time of receiving the request, the enterprise providing technical infrastructure services is responsible for preventing violations at the request of the competent state management agency (Point a, Clause 1).

According to the delegate, infrastructure services are the core service group of e-commerce activities, when requested, their suspension of cooperation will directly affect the operation of the platform. Therefore, the mechanism needs to be strict.

However, the phrase “as soon as possible” does not measure compliance. Without a specific time limit, large infrastructure enterprises may cite technical reasons, contracts, or wait for instructions from superiors, leading to a slow suspension of cooperation, losing the meaning of a quick response.

To increase control, flexibility, suitability for digital management, increase accountability and increase two-way monitoring mechanism, delegate Trieu Thi Huyen proposed to amend Point a, Clause 1 in the direction: Within no more than 12 hours from receiving a valid written request or electronic message from a competent state management agency, the enterprise providing technical infrastructure services is responsible for temporarily suspending the provision of services, preventing access or terminating cooperation with the violating e-commerce platform.

At the same time, it is necessary to add a new clause with the following content: After implementing the request, the enterprise must report the implementation results within 24 hours from the completion of the suspension of cooperation.

Additional incentives to develop e-commerce

One content that delegates are interested in is the specific support policy for e-commerce development (Article 39).

Accordingly, beneficiaries of special support mechanisms and policies include: business households and individuals starting creative businesses in e-commerce; cooperatives and cooperative unions operating in agricultural production and processing and traditional industries; small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women, and enterprises employing many people with disabilities...

Delegates of Khanh Hoa delegation participated in the discussion in Group 4 on the afternoon of November 3. Photo: Ho Long

Specific support policies include: support for costs of connecting digital infrastructure, setting up booths on e-commerce platforms; free or supported costs for training and coaching on e-commerce; support for access to carry out administrative procedures, etc.

According to delegate Trieu Thi Huyen, this is the right direction, in line with the digital transformation of the entire population. However, if it is kept as the draft Law, it will be difficult to implement, overlapping with current support programs for small businesses and creative startups.

Delegates proposed to add the following content: Regarding beneficiaries, the Government should specify criteria for determining vulnerable groups, small and medium-sized enterprises, business households, and cooperatives that are eligible for special support policies in e-commerce, ensuring consistency nationwide.

Regarding specific support policies (Clause 2), it is necessary to add more content on preferential fees and charges when participating in e-commerce platforms; support for product promotion costs, registering digital booths and reaching online consumers; enjoying preferential credit, exemption or reduction of income tax for a certain period of time for small and medium enterprises and business households in remote areas when participating in e-commerce activities.

At the same time, it is necessary to specify funding sources and coordination responsibilities so that support policies can be effectively implemented.

More clearly defined obligations on green and sustainable development

National Assembly Deputy Hoang Quoc Khanh (Lai Chau) cited the fact that recently, there was a situation where people had just placed an order on a commercial platform the day before, but the next day they received a phone call reminding them to transfer money with an amount of only 20,000 - 30,000 VND, then committed fraudulent acts, due to information leakage.

National Assembly Deputy Hoang Quoc Khanh (Lai Chau) speaks. Photo: Ho Long

The delegate emphasized that information security is very important. Although the draft Law has mentioned this issue, it is only scattered in provisions.

“According to the press, many countries have their own regulations on information security responsibilities. For example, Japan, South Korea, Singapore… have their own provisions on information security in electronic transactions. Therefore, the draft Law needs to have a separate article on information security,” the delegate suggested.

In the context of our green and sustainable development, the development of green and sustainable e-commerce is an inevitable requirement. The Draft Law also clearly stipulates this issue in Article 37.

Delegates of Lai Chau delegation participated in the discussion session at Group 4 on the afternoon of November 3. Photo: Ho Long

However, according to delegate Hoang Quoc Khanh, the new draft Law only provides regulations on encouraging businesses to build and implement sustainable e-commerce solutions; encouraging e-commerce platforms to apply identification marks with "green", "sustainable", "responsible" labels or other identification marks for goods and services that meet technical standards and regulations provided on e-commerce platforms.

“Initially, encouragement is fine, but later on, there must be supervision, inspection, and sanctions,” the delegate suggested, noting that it is necessary to review the Law on Environmental Protection to have clearer regulations on incentive policies and obligations of parties to implement green and sustainable e-commerce.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/du-an-luat-thuong-mai-dien-tu-can-co-dieu-luat-rieng-ve-bao-mat-thong-tin-10394184.html