State control over access to information via the Internet is defined in Government Decree No 55/2001/ND-CP of 2001 on the Management, Provision and Use of Internet Services and requires certification at all levels, from IXPs to ISPs and ICPs down to individual users.

Internet exchange providers (IXPs) are required to operate secured gateways, amounting to national firewalls and proxies that prevent access from Việt Nam to Internet sites which are deemed morally and politically unsuitable. These firewalls allow only web, telnet, mail (SMTP) and file transfer (FTP) protocols, thus blocking access to other services outside of Việt Nam, including remote mailboxes (POP3), newsgroups (NNTP) and networked telephony.