Policy Thinking Must Lead the Way

A typical example, which the author has directly experienced and observed, is the confusion, delays, and inefficiency of ministries and agencies in developing the policy and legal framework for digital technology and the digital economy over the past five years.

A specific scenario (to provide clarity) involves how to handle digital services and digital platforms, especially since most of these platforms operate globally and provide cross-border services to Vietnam. At one point, regulations concerning digital services and platforms appeared simultaneously in four different draft laws or proposed legislative frameworks, including the draft Law on Electronic Transactions (amended), the draft Law on Telecommunications (amended), the proposal for the Law on Digital Technology Enterprises, and the draft Law on Consumer Protection (amended). This is not to mention other legal documents and decrees at the sectoral level, such as the Law on Cinematography regulating film screening services like Netflix and YQIYI; the Law on Intellectual Property addressing copyright infringement on digital platforms; or decrees on Internet management and e-commerce regulations.

While every sector strives to claim control and licensing authority over its domain, it is challenging to find clear analyses of development policies in legal proposals. What are the policies for industry development? What problems (challenges) do digital services and platforms pose to the market and society? When regulating such platforms, what benefits will it bring to the industry, the digital economy, and the broader economy as a whole? And what compliance costs will businesses in the sector bear?

From a domestic perspective, how will the interests of "traditional" businesses be affected? How will the interests of emerging tech companies change? How, in turn, will these impacts reshape the business sectors and the economy? If traditional businesses (e.g., taxis, television, film production, telecommunications) are affected, are there alternative policy solutions to offset such losses?

The lack of policy thinking and vision has led to predictable consequences: overlapping and fragmented legal frameworks (where a single issue or sector is managed by multiple ministries; even within a ministry, different departments (bureaus) compete for authority). This fragmentation sometimes causes legal conflicts, creating risks for businesses when compliance with one law results in violations of another. The larger consequence is ineffective policymaking at the national level, wasting resources, opportunities, and the country’s developmental potential.

The 15th National Assembly has marked a significant leap in legislative activities by adopting an approach of "early and remote preparation" for law reviews. The willingness of the National Assembly to hold extraordinary meetings to address critical national issues, rather than adhering strictly to scheduled biannual sessions, is a major improvement. Building on this momentum, the effectiveness of policy-making and decisions on major national issues can be further enhanced if the National Assembly, particularly its committees and dedicated representatives, proactively engage in the "policy-making" phase.

Specifically, the National Assembly could anticipate key policy issues and provide guidance to the government and ministries by proposing a "bundle of laws" to address them. Policies often involve multiple instruments, typically combining financial mechanisms (such as tax tools or financial support packages) and market regulations. Therefore, addressing policy challenges may require drafting multiple laws or amending several laws simultaneously, rather than relying on a single law as is currently the practice.

The phrase "making laws" should be correctly understood: it means that members of the National Assembly "decide" on policies, which are then embodied in the form of legal provisions. Therefore, policy thinking and first deciding on the policy serve as the "necessary condition," while the "legal technique"—drafting high-quality legal provisions—follows as the "sufficient condition."

(This translation was provided by an automated AI translation tool)