Unsolicited commercial electronic messages: Commitments of the CPTPP, the law of some countries and lessons learnt for Vietnam

Abstract

Unsolicited commercial electronic messages may be interpreted as electronic messages which are sent for commercial purposes without the consent of the recipient. Many countries have been interested in controlling unsolicited commercial electronic messages and made the law regulating the issue in question. The law of Vietnam has included provisions on advertising messages, advertising e-mails and spam mails. As a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP Agreement), Vietnam has committed to controlling unsolicited commercial electronic messages. On the basis of Vietnam’s commitments and the reference to experience of some countries in the world such as the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc, the paper aims at identifying the issue of unsoclicited commercial messgages under the CPTPP commitments and analysing the current situation of the law of Vietnam in this regard to evaluate its compatibility with the CPTPP. The paper then proposes some recommendations for impoving the law of Vietnam in the direction of being compatible with the CPTPP commitments.