AI Regulatory Update 2026

Vietnam is moving to govern AI, not just encourage it.

With the explicit goal of ranking among the Top 3 AI R&D hubs in Southeast Asia by 2030, the government has moved quickly since the AI Law took effect on 1 March 2026, rolling out a first wave of implementing instruments within months.

Decree No. 142 sets out a risk-based classification framework for AI systems, complemented by Decision No. 33, which issues the official list of 46 high-risk AI systems spanning education, healthcare, banking, transport, judicial proceedings, and ethnic and religious affairs. Alongside classification, distributors and deployers now face concrete obligations: technical marking and labelling of AI-generated content, serious incident reporting within 72 hours, and conformity assessment before certain systems can go live. A regulatory sandbox regime, complete with AI development support vouchers, gives innovators room to test before those obligations fully apply.

Our team was pleased to contribute an article examining:

→ Risk classification and conformity assessment, including the list of high-risk AI systems and compliance deadlines

→ Transparency and accountability obligations, covering technical marking, labelling and serious incident reporting

→ The regulatory sandbox regime, entry requirements, testing levels and liability safeguards

→ AI infrastructure, data and support mechanisms, including the National AI Portal and AI Vouchers

→ The National AI Ethics Framework and its four groups of guiding principles

Download the article here.