Vietnam against Internet piracy
Vietnam, previously a safe haven for Internet piracy, is turning away from that reputation. The country has enacted a comprehensive copyright reform that significantly tightens the rules for the protection of copyrighted material. The new law, Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, came into effect on April 26, 2023, and could drastically change the landscape of digital rights and internet piracy.
The new law contains eight chapters and 116 articles focusing on various aspects of intellectual property. It is particularly noteworthy that the law significantly increases the responsibility of IT service providers, such as cloud providers, registrars and web hosts. In the event of copyright infringements by their customers, these service providers can now expect far-reaching consequences under civil and criminal law.
Vietnam on the way to strengthening copyright
One significant change is the definition of Internet Service Provider (ISP). Companies that are considered ISPs, including cloud storage providers, social networks and search engines, must meet certain obligations to avoid penalties or claims for damages.
Service providers also need to review their notice-and-takedown procedures, which means responding more quickly to copyright infringement notices. In addition, ISPs are now also responsible for protecting the personal data of their customers.
Also of note is the introduction of the Know Your Business Customer (KYBC) rule. Service providers must now verify the identity of their users using official documents. This significantly limits the scope for anonymous copyright infringement.
Noticeable reduction in Internet piracy expected
The impact of these new regulations on Internet piracy is not yet fully clear, but they could have significant consequences for well-known pirate websites such as Fmovies, 9anime, BestBuyIPTV, Abyss, Fembed, and 2embed, all of which are connected to the Vietnamese market in some way. The new regulations are certainly not good news for them.
These steps to combat Internet piracy mark an important turning point for Vietnam. The new laws are intended to help ensure that Vietnam is no longer considered a haven for pirate websites in the future and that the country actively works to protect intellectual property. How effective these measures will be and whether they will bring about a noticeable reduction in Internet piracy remains to be seen. However, it is a notable step toward stronger copyright enforcement in the digital world.
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