Hanoi (VNA) — VNG Corporation has requested to postpone a scheduled working session with the National Competition Commission (NCC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade regarding issues related to the Zalo platform, the commission said on December 31.
According to the NCC, it received an official document from VNG on December 30 that seeks a delay in the meeting originally set for December 31, 2025. VNG explained that the information and documents required for the session involve multiple specialised fields that need additional time to be reviewed and prepared. The company also noted that it is currently coordinating and working with other regulatory authorities on related matters.
To proactively prevent and limit potential risks that could affect the rights and legitimate interests of consumers, the NCC issued an official request on December 31, asking VNG to immediately and seriously implement a number of measures to protect users during the provision of services on Zalo.
Specifically, the commission asked VNG to review and adjust the implementation of Zalo’s terms of service to ensure that users are not forced to consent to the company's collection, storage, or use of their personal information as a mandatory condition for continuing to use the service. Users must be enabled to express their consent in a voluntary and transparent manner.
The NCC also required VNG comprehensively review all contracts and general transaction conditions, including Zalo’s terms of service, internal regulations and policies related to service provision. These documents must comply with legal regulations on consumer rights protection before they are further applied in practice.
In addition, VNG was asked to take measures to safeguard user information and temporarily refrain from transferring to third parties the data of users who have accepted the newly updated Zalo terms of service.
The NCC said it will continue working with VNG based on the information and documents provided, while coordinating with relevant agencies to ensure the rights and legitimate interests of consumers in the digital environment.
Recently, the commission has recorded public concerns related to updates to Zalo’s terms of service, as well as the collection and use of user data on the platform operated by VNG. On December 29, the NCC requested VNG to report on these issues at a meeting on December 31.
The requested information includes general information about the company and the platform, the publication and updating of terms of service, policies related to personal data and privacy, online service provision for individual users, and mechanisms for receiving and handling user complaints.
Launched in 2012, Zalo is a free messaging and calling application developed by VNG Corporation. After more than a decade, it has become the most used messaging app in Vietnam, according to Frost & Sullivan.
According to VNG’s report, Zalo recorded 79.2 million monthly active users in the third quarter of 2025, with 2.1 billion messages sent each day./.
VNA
