Under new Vietnamese regulations taking effect in August 2026, telecom operators that fail to intercept and reclaim numbers used to send spam SMS will face fines of up to VND 100 million. The rules place responsibility for source-level spam SMS control squarely on basic telecom service providers.
Under Decree No. 330/2026/NĐ‑CP, operators that allow numbers on their networks to be used for spam SMS and harassing calls through inaction will be fined between VND 90 million and VND 100 million. The regulations also impose obligations on commercial senders. Entities that send more than three advertising SMS to the same number within a 24-hour period without user consent, send marketing messages outside agreed time windows, or deliberately conceal the sender's identity will be fined between VND 30 million and VND 50 million.
Operators must proactively monitor and shut down numbers being abused to send spam messages; they must not allow numbers associated with harassment to remain active on their networks. The regulation pushes responsibility for spam SMS governance down to basic operators, which are obligated to control number abuse within their networks.
This regulatory framework also constrains A2P businesses expanding into Vietnam. Companies conducting bulk SMS operations must use properly authorized channels and are strictly prohibited from using ordinary personal mobile numbers for commercial mass messaging. In the event of abusive sending, not only the sender but also the operator will be held liable. Service providers therefore need to strictly regulate their sending practices to avoid number shutdowns and associated compliance risks arising from bulk sending via P2P numbers.
