HM&P will release a guide to DPO operations in Vietnam on 04 February 2026

The law on personal data protection in Vietnam is gradually being implemented synchronously and into practice. Accordingly, the role of the Data Protection Officer (DPO) is increasingly clearly established and has become an important component of the compliance management system of many businesses, especially those with large-scale data processing activities sensitive data or transfer of data overseas. In order to support businesses, organizations and dedicated personnel to properly understand, do the right thing and effectively implement the role of DPO in accordance with Vietnamese law, HM&P Law Firm ("HM&P") will release a publication on the topic "Q&A on legal issues related to Data Protection Officer".

The publication is built by HM&P in the form of a Q&A, combined with visual illustration diagrams, making it easy for readers to access, look up and apply in business operations. The content of the publication focuses on clarifying the core groups of issues that businesses and DPOs often encounter in the implementation process, including:

• Conditions, standards and organizational model of DPO in Vietnam (internal DPO, outsourced DPO and hybrid model);
• Scope of duties, powers and legal responsibilities of DPOs according to the new regulations;
• Disclaimer mechanisms, confidentiality agreements and boundaries of responsibility of DPOs in practice;
• The role of the DPO in creating, updating and maintaining mandatory compliance records;
• Obligation to coordinate with state management agencies, inspection – examination and handling of personal data incidents;
• The process of responding to data breaches, the obligation to notify within "72 hours" and keep records after the incident.

Unlike a purely theoretical approach, this publication is built by HM&P on the basis of a comparison between legal regulations and compliance practices, focusing on clarifying common problems that businesses often encounter when implementing personal data protection mechanisms. Through this publication, HM&P hopes to be able to support businesses to properly understand the role of DPO in the data governance system, minimize legal risks arising from formal or incomplete implementation, and gradually build a personal data protection system suitable for the characteristics of operations in Vietnam.

This document will be officially released on  HM&P's website and social media platforms on the morning of February 4, 2026. We would like to announce for our customers, businesses and friends to read.