COMBATING SPAM MESSAGES, SPAM EMAIL AND SPAM CALLS, AND THE SENDING OF ADVERTISING MESSAGES, ADVERTISING EMAIL AND ADVERTISING CALLS IN VIETNAM

To help customers clearly understand their responsibilities and obligations when using telecommunications services — including messaging, email, and call services — under current Vietnamese law, so as to ensure compliance and limit violations, Pho Tue SoftWare And Technology Solutions Joint Stock Company (“Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC”) issues “Compliance rules for customers using messaging, email and call services” with the following content:

Article 1. Scope of application

Customers and partners of Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC that send messages or emails, or make telephone calls, in the course of deploying and using the services of Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC.

Article 2. Definitions

1. An advertising message, advertising email or advertising call means a message, email or call that promotes to the public a product, good or service for profit; a non-profit product or service; or an organization or individual trading in the product, good or service being promoted — excluding news, social policy information, personal messages, and customer care messages from telecommunications companies.

2. An advertiser is a party that advertises by message, email or telephone call.

3. A user is a person who receives messages, email or calls relating to advertising activity.

4. Spam messages, spam email and spam calls include the following:

a) Advertising text messages, advertising emails, or advertising phone calls made without the prior consent of the User, or advertising text messages, advertising emails, or advertising phone calls that violate the rules on sending advertising text messages, sending advertising emails, or making advertising phone calls under applicable law;

b) Messages, email and calls containing content prohibited by law.

5. The do-not-advertise list is the set of telephone numbers whose authorized users have registered not to accept any advertising registration message, advertising message or advertising call. It is maintained by the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Article 3. Responsibilities of the advertiser

1. You must check the Do-Not-Advertise List in order to avoid sending advertising subscription messages, advertising messages or advertising calls to the telephone numbers on that list. The checking procedure is as follows:

– Look it up on the websitehttps://khongquangcao.ais.gov.vn/

– Other forms as provided by law or as directed by the competent state authority.

2. Advertising messages, advertising emails and advertising telephone calls may be sent to a User only where the User has given prior consent to receiving advertising through one of the following means:

a) Consent to receive advertising messages after the advertiser sends the first and only advertising opt-in message;

b) Declaring and confirming on the Advertiser's printed registration form, portal/website, online applications and social media channels;

c) Calling or texting the advertiser's call center to opt in;

d) Using software to auto-subscribe recipients to advertising.

3. Provide Users with a lookup tool, or retain records of consent regarding registration for and opt-out of advertising messages, advertising emails, and advertising calls, on its portal/website or social media, in order to support inspection, audits, and the handling of complaints and denunciations.

4. To be responsible for, and to have measures in place to verify, the User's clear prior consent before sending advertising messages, advertising emails or making advertising calls.

5. Provide a reasonable mechanism that makes it straightforward for Users to opt out of receiving advertising messages, as required by law.

6. Cooperating with Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC and other relevant agencies and organizations in advertising by SMS, email and phone call.

7. Retain users' advertising opt-in records, opt-out requests and opt-out confirmations to support inspection, examination and supervision, for a minimum period of 01 year.

8. Comply with the legal rules on sender IDs

9. Other responsibilities as provided by law.

Article 4. Rights and obligations of the User

1. Forward information about spam messages, spam email and spam calls to the spam message, spam email and spam call reporting system operated by the Ministry of Information and Communications (Authority of Information Security), or to that of Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC.

2. The right to accept or refuse advertising.

3. Cooperate with Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC, Advertisers and the competent state authorities in combating spam messages, spam email and spam calls.

Article 5. Principles for sending advertising messages, advertising email and advertising calls

1. Advertising messages must not be sent, and advertising calls must not be made, to telephone numbers on the Do-Not-Advertise List or to Users who have not previously consented to receiving advertising.

2. For advertising by SMS to phone numbers not on the Do-Not-Advertise List, the Advertiser may send only one initial advertising opt-in message.

3. Where a User refuses to receive advertising, or does not reply after receiving the first advertising registration message, the Advertiser may not send any further advertising registration message or advertising message to that telephone number.

4. Advertising messages, advertising emails and advertising telephone calls to a User must stop immediately upon receipt of the User's opt-out request.

5. Each Advertiser may not send more than 3 advertising messages to a single phone number, 3 advertising emails to a single email address, or 1 advertising phone call to a single phone number within 24 hours, unless otherwise agreed with the User.

6. Messages may only be sent between 07:00 and 22:00 each day, and advertising calls may only be made between 08:00 and 17:00 each day, unless otherwise agreed with the User.

7. Advertising content must comply with the law on advertising.

8. Advertising messages may be sent and advertising calls made only once a registered sender name has been issued; telephone numbers may not be used to send advertising messages or make advertising calls.

Article 6. Terms of use for messaging, email and call services

The Customer undertakes to use the service in compliance with the law and with carrier policies as they apply from time to time, including but not limited to the following:

1. Undertake not to use call center services to place voice calls delivering verification codes or OTP codes for applications that have no legal representative in the territory of Vietnam;

2. Undertake not to engage in international call fraud;

3. The service must not be used for gambling, organizing gambling, fraud, unlawful trading or any other unlawful activity;

4. Do not send messages, email or calls that breach the law.

Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC will notify customers when carrier policies change.

Article 7. Handling violations of the rules against spam messages, spam email and spam calls

1. Handling of violations of the regulations on countering spam messages, spam email and spam calls under Government regulations.

2. Remediation and prevention of spam messages, spam email, and spam calls follow the regulations of telecommunications service providers and network operators (including blocking communications to violating numbers, blocking the number itself, or revoking the number, depending on the severity and frequency of the violation).

3. Sources used to identify spam messages, spam email and spam calls:

(i) From systems/applications/messages;

(ii) From reports by users;

(iii) From a notice issued by the competent state authority.

Article 8. Cooperation between Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC, state authorities and other carriers

1. Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC will cooperate in handling and blocking spam messages, spam email and spam calls in line with guidance from the Authority of Telecommunications, the Authority of Information Security and other competent bodies. Those bodies' requirements may change from time to time. Telecommunications is a specialized service, and customers accept and understand that in certain urgent or exceptional cases, instructions and directives from state authorities will not be issued in writing.

2. At the request of the carriers concerned, Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC will work with those telecommunications operators to block the offending activity.

Customers and partners of Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC undertake to comply with these rules and with current Vietnamese law on spam messages, spam email and spam calls, and with the terms of use. A breach will be grounds for Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC to exercise its rights to block calls, revoke number ranges, suspend or terminate the contract, and apply penalties under the terms of the contract or its annexes signed between Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC and the customer or partner. Depending on the severity of the breach, the customer may also face action under applicable law.

If a customer/partner uses SMS, email, or voice-call services provided by Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC for advertising purposes, the customer/partner should notify Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC so both parties can cooperate to ensure that advertising via SMS, email, or phone calls complies with applicable law.

Continuing to access or use Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC's services is deemed acceptance of these rules. These rules may be amended and supplemented from time to time, and Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC encourages customers to review them regularly to stay up to date and protect their own interests.

If you have any queries or questions about these rules, please contact Pho Tue SoftWare Solutions JSC using the details below for assistance: Hotline +84 8659 20041

Updated January 23, 2025