Artificial intelligence surveillance and the right to privacy in Vietnam a human security policy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26618/ppxc9c11

Keywords:

artificial intelligence surveillance, right to privacy, human security

Abstract

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI)–enabled surveillance has become a central feature of contemporary governance, enhancing public security while raising serious concerns for the right to privacy. This article examines AI surveillance in Vietnam through the combined lenses of human security and Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Using doctrinal legal analysis and focused comparative evaluation, the study analyses how AI surveillance practices—such as facial recognition, biometric profiling, and behavioural analytics—generate cumulative privacy risks, including informational opacity, behavioural chilling, algorithmic bias, and institutional accountability deficits. It further assesses whether Vietnam’s existing legal framework, particularly the Law on Cybersecurity and Decree 13/2023/NĐ-CP, satisfies ICCPR standards of legality, legitimate aim, necessity, proportionality, and effective oversight. The findings reveal significant normative and institutional gaps. Drawing on comparative insights from the EU’s GDPR and South Korea’s PIPA, the article proposes a phased and context-sensitive reform pathway to strengthen privacy protection while supporting Vietnam’s digital transformation and national-security objectives.

References

Aloisit, A., & Gramanott, E. (2019). Artificial intelligence is watching you at work: Digital monitoring, employee monitoring and legal issues in the EU context. Artificial Intelligence Is Watching You, 41(1), 95–122. https://goo.gl/Cv4EAi.

Baldwin, R., Cave, M., & Lodge, M. (2012). Understanding Regulation: Theory, Strategy, and Practice. Oxford University Press.

Bennett, C. J., & Raab, C. D. (2017). The governance of privacy: Policy instruments in global perspective. In The Governance of Privacy: Policy Instruments in Global Perspective. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315199269

Buolamwini, J., & Gebru, T. (2018). Gender Shades: Intersectional Accuracy Disparities in Commercial Gender Classification. Proceedings of Machine Learning Research, 81, 1–15.

Celeste, E. (2019). Digital constitutionalism: a new systematic theorisation. International Review of Law, Computers and Technology, 33(1), 76–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600869.2019.1562604

Duberry, J. (2022). Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: Risks and Promises of AI-Mediated Citizen-Government Relations. In Artificial Intelligence and Democracy: Risks and Promises of AI-Mediated Citizen-Government Relations (pp. 1–244). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781788977319

Dunleavy, P., & Margetts, H. (2025). Data science, artificial intelligence and the third wave of digital era governance. Public Policy and Administration, 40(2), 185–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/09520767231198737

Ergashev, A. (2023). Privacy Concerns and Data Protection in An Era of AI Surveillance Technologies. International Journal Of Law And Criminology, 3(08), 71–76. https://inlibrary.uz/index.php/ijlc/article/view/38845%0Ahttps://doi.org/10.37547/ijlc/Volume03Issue08-14

Ezzeddine, Y., Bayerl, P. S., & Gibson, H. (2023). Safety, privacy, or both: evaluating citizens’ perspectives around artificial intelligence use by police forces. Policing and Society, 33(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2023.2211813

Ghosh, A., Saini, A., & Barad, H. (2025). Artificial intelligence in governance: recent trends, risks, challenges, innovative frameworks and future directions. AI and Society, 40(7), 5685–5707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-025-02312-y

Haney, B. S. (2019). Applied Artificial Intelligence in Modern Warfare & National Security Policy. SSRN Electronic Journal, 11, 61. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3454204

Johari, A., & Sparviero, S. (2025). Privacy and AI: Mitigating the Risks, Leveraging the Opportunities. Journal. Kommunikation-Medien, 2025(17), 1–17.

Kim, D. H., & Park, D. H. (2024). Automated decision-making in South Korea: a critical review of the revised Personal Information Protection Act. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 11(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03470-y

Lâm, T. T. (2024). Children’s personal information and personal data protection under the laws of the EU, US and Vietnam. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development, 8(14), 8143. https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd8143

Lebovits, H. (2019). Automating Inequality: How High-Tech Tools Profile, Police, and Punish the Poor. In Public Integrity (Vol. 21, Issue 4). St. Martin’s Press. https://doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2018.1511671

Malgieri, G., & Comandé, G. (2017). Why a right to legibility of automated decision-making exists in the general data protection regulation. International Data Privacy Law, 7(4), 243–265. https://doi.org/10.1093/idpl/ipx019

National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. (2021). National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Final Report - National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, February, 1–756.

Nguyen, T. H. (2024). Investigating Driving Factors of Digital Transformation in the Vietnam Shipping Companies: Applied for TOE Framework. SAGE Open, 14(4), 21582440241301210. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241301210

Reddy, M. S., Vamsi, C., & Kathambari, P. (2024). Rescue me : AI Emergency Response and Disaster Management System. 2nd International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Applications: Healthcare and Internet of Things, AIMLA 2024, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1109/AIMLA59606.2024.10531386

Richards, N. M., & Hartzog, W. (2015). Taking Trust Seriously in Privacy Law. SSRN Electronic Journal, 19, 431. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2655719

Sakpal, S. S. (2024). AI Assisted Real Time Response Systems for National Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Management. 2024 Global Conference on Communications and Information Technologies, GCCIT 2024, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1109/GCCIT63234.2024.10862886

Singh, T. (2024). AI-Driven Surveillance Technologies and Human Rights: Balancing Security and Privacy. Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 392 SIST, 703–717. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3690-4_53

Taeihagh, A. (2021). Governance of artificial intelligence. Policy and Society, 40(2), 137–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/14494035.2021.1928377

Thanh, N. N. (2024). The opportunities and challenges of public policy communication in the context of digital transformation in Vietnam. Journal of State Management , 31(12), 13–21. https://jsm.quanlynhanuoc.vn/jsm/article/view/18

UNDP. (1994). Human Development Report 1994: New Dimensions of Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press. New York. Retrieved December, 12, 2022.

Yeung, K. (2018). Algorithmic regulation: A critical interrogation. Regulation and Governance, 12(4), 505–523. https://doi.org/10.1111/rego.12158

Zuboff, S. (2023). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. In Social Theory Re-Wired (pp. 203–213). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003320609-27

Downloads

Published

2025-12-26