The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee has just issued a regulation on management, operation and exploitation of monitoring camera systems in Ho Chi Minh City, which is effective from January 22.

More and more privacy infringement cases have been reported recently, but some victims of the cases are not even aware of their privacy rights.

In the past, Vietnamese people were willing to provide personal information and their photos, but many have decided to stop doing this because of certain risks.

A close friend recently showed me a text message of his friend who has been put under quarantine. “I have lost everything. I don’t have the face to see my wife and kids, co-workers and friends anymore,” he wrote.

Privacy is an interesting topic of discussion in Vietnam. It has been influenced by village culture, an important component of the Vietnamese cultural identity.