Under the law, when creating accounts for children on social media platforms or other online services, parents or legal guardians must use their own personal information to complete the registration process.

According to Article 16 of the Cybersecurity Law, which governs the prevention of online harm against children, minors have the right to access information, participate in social activities, enjoy entertainment, protect their personal information and private lives, and exercise other rights in cyberspace in accordance with Vietnamese law.

At the same time, the law requires that when children use value-added services in cyberspace, their parents or legal guardians, as defined under Vietnam's civil law, must register the accounts using their own information. They are also responsible for supervising and managing the content children access, post and share on those platforms.

In practice, this means that whenever children create accounts on social media platforms or other online services, the registration details must belong to a parent or legal guardian rather than the child.

The law also outlines a range of responsibilities for operators of information systems, telecommunications providers, internet service providers and companies offering online value-added services. These include monitoring content on their systems to prevent material that could harm children or violate their rights; blocking the sharing of and removing harmful content; developing technical systems to detect and prevent child abuse content online; coordinating with government agencies, organizations and businesses to stop the spread of content that harms children; and promptly notifying and working with the Ministry of Public Security's specialized cybersecurity force when such cases arise.

Earlier, Government Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP introduced similar requirements for social media services. Under the decree, if a social media user is a child under the age of 16, a parent or legal guardian must register the account using their own information and is responsible for supervising and managing the content the child accesses, posts and shares on social media platforms.

The required registration information includes the parent's or guardian's full name, date of birth, Vietnamese mobile phone number or personal identification number.

Le My