Intellasia News Services -- Privacy issues plague e-commerce in Vietnam

Privacy issues plague e-commerce in Vietnam
Source: 01-APR-2008 Intellasia | Saigon Times Daily page 2
2 Apr, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
Privacy issues regarding e-commerce continue to negatively impact businesses and customers, according to experts in HCM City last week.

These sentiments were expressed at a conference organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOIT) about securing e-commerce in Vietnam based on the nine privacy principles ratified by Apec ministers in 2004.

The principles aim to help Apec member economies build a privacy protection framework that will boost regional levels of economic trade and development.

Nguyen Manh Quyen, deputy head of the ministry's National E-commerce and Information Technology Department, said Vietnamese enterprises were aware that e-commerce is important for attracting clients, increasing profits and reducing trade expenditures. Some 40 business-to-business web sites and 100 businesses to customer web sites were introduced in the country last year.

The Vietnam e-commerce transaction floor currently has 38 members and signed 185 contracts with foreign partners last year through the national e-commerce site at www.ecun.com

According to a survey conducted by the ministry, 63% of businesses believe that they will continue to receive contracts and increase their competitive edge through e-commerce transactions. The survey also found that the chief concern among businesses is privacy.

Quyen said only a quarter of the 290 Vietnamese websites state their intention to protect customers' privacy, which has resulted in leaked information and harm to businesses and customers.

Quyen added that whereas Vietnam's fines for privacy violations range from 500,000 dong to 2 million dong, U.S-based enterprises must pay US$5 million if client personal information is revealed. "Low fines and undisclosed regulation are causing some Vietnamese enterprises not to pay much attention to privacy.issues, n he said.

Lawyer Katrina Blodgets, an specialist from the US Department of Commerce and the Federal Trade Commission, advised Vietnamese enterprises to publicise their policies to protect customers' information when participating in international e-commerce, especially in the Apec region.

Dinh CongTuan, managing director of the Tien Phong E-commerce Co., said that e-commerce website operators should invest in a comprehensive security system.and commit to customer privacy. "Few local enterprises have adequate knowledge about ensuring data privacy and customers' right," he added.

To encourage more enterprises to carry out strict data privacy, the Vietnam E-commerce Association and the ministry will begin issuing licenses for local e-commerce websites.

The TrustVn license will be presented to enterprises conducting business with Apec members based on personal information protection, number of visitors and mechanisms to monitor signed contracts. With the new license, local enterprises will have an advantage when doing business with Apec members.