No longer niche, ESG links directly to value creation19 min read

Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) is not only a focus of sustainable investing internationally but has become increasingly popular in Vietnam as a means of long-term value creation.

Together with the rise in global demand for compliance with ESG standards, the Vietnamese Government and businesses across a wide spectrum of industries are increasingly making efforts to address ESG-related issues and promote best ESG practices. It is hence crucial for companies and investors operating there to understand the country's current legal framework in relation to ESG. 

In this Insight, we give an overview of ESG and the legal landscape in Vietnam and examine the key legal considerations for each of the three pillars of ESG.

Key takeaways

  • ESG practices have become increasingly popular in Vietnam, primarily due to the Government's promotion of them, and to investors' growing demand for sustainable investment.
  • The increased social pressure to address ESG concerns means failure to do so can lead to serious reputational harm. Additionally, some key ESG considerations involve legal obligations, and businesses must adequately address these to avoid exposure to liabilities and litigation. Furthermore, research has shown that good ESG performance can result in higher financial gains and sustainable value.
  • Businesses need to stay across the applicable ESG legal framework and current ESG practices, and periodically measure their current ESG performance against them.

Overview of ESG

What is ESG?

Environmental, Social and Governance are the three key pillars for a company conducting its business sustainably and responsibly.

ESG covers a broad spectrum of issues, including climate change and resource efficiency, human rights, labour relations, cybersecurity and privacy, anti-bribery and corruption, and transparency and disclosure. ESG standards derive from international law, local law and soft law standards (eg agreements, principles and declarations that are not legally binding).

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Key drivers of ESG

Social pressure: The primary factor driving ESG is the increased social pressure on businesses when it comes to their accountability and obligations to society. Such pressure comes from a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including investors, employees and the community. A failure to address ESG concerns could lead to serious reputational harm.

Legal requirements: Even more importantly, some key ESG considerations are recognised as legal obligations (such as those relating to data privacy protection and anti-discrimination ), mandating businesses to comply with ESG-related obligations to a certain extent. Accordingly, companies need to adequately address ESG-related regulatory concerns, to avoid exposure to legal liabilities and litigation.

Financial gains and sustainable value: Furthermore, research has shown that businesses with good ESG performance can reduce costs through energy and resources efficiency, increase productivity and reduce the risk of regulatory interventions, eventually resulting in higher financial gains and sustainable value. So, ESG is no longer a niche strategy but directly links to business values.  

Current ESG practice and trends in Vietnam

The popularity of ESG practices has grown rapidly in Vietnam in recent years, with the primary driving force being the Government's increasing efforts to promote ESG-related practices, and investors' growing demand for sustainable investment.

Nationally, as one of the countries most affected by climate change, Vietnam has put it at the top of its ESG agenda. At the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) on 1 November 2021, Vietnam pledged to reach a net-zero carbon emission target by 2050, stop deforestation by 2030, and phase out coal-fired power by 2040. Recently, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (the MONRE) has partnered with the International Finance Corporation and Citibank for support and resources to help Vietnam achieve its goals. 

In the private sector, major investment firms have pledged to commit to ESG investment by adopting the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. Increasing interest in ESG practices of investors – especially foreign investors – has spurred private sector participation. Companies (domestic and foreign-invested) across various sectors have committed to address ESG-related issues within their businesses. Common issues include improving working conditions, combating climate change, and enhancing corporate governance.

Recent ESG initiatives in Vietnam

  • SCG, a construction conglomerate, has committed to investing more than VND47,000 billion (c. US$2 billion) to enhance its production process and apply high technology in business to achieve the 20% greenhouse gas emissions reduction target by 2030, and the net zero emission target by 2050.
  • HSBC has committed to arranging up to US$12 billion sustainable financing for Vietnam by 2030, which, as of May 2022, had reportedly reached 10% of this target.
  • Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stock exchanges have launched the Vietnam Sustainability Index to recognise and promote best ESG practices implemented by publicly listed companies in Vietnam.
  • Vinamilk, a major public company, has made ESG a crucial factor in achieving sustainable growth.
  • Dragon Capital, a credible investment group, has adopted the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, to optimise its risk-adjusted performance.
  • Hoa Phat, a leading industrial manufacturing group in Vietnam, invests in using the huge amount of excess heat from the process of producing steel to produce electricity, which covers up to 80% of the electricity needed for its steel production.

Environment

Environment, or 'E', assesses how a business interacts with, and impacts, the environment during its operation.

Vietnam has recently affirmed its commitments in various international forums, especially the COP26, to join hands with other countries in dealing with environmental issues. To fulfil such commitments, the National Committee Implementing Vietnam's Commitments in COP26 was established by the Prime Minister on 21 December 2021, followed by the issuing of various national policies and regulations detailing specific targets corresponding to each commitment.

The current domestic law on environmental protection also highlights harmonisation with international environmental laws to combat climate change. The Law on Environmental Protection (the LOEP), which came into effect on 1 January 2022, and its guiding instruments introduce further details of implementation and enforcement of the targets and commitments in practice.

Below are the key considerations for business as to environmental protection under Vietnam's international commitments, national policies and current regulations.

Climate change

Vietnam's key commitments on, and targets for, combating climate change can be summarised as follows:

INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS1 NATIONAL TARGETS2

Net-zero carbon emissions by 2050

  • Net-zero carbon/GHG emissions by 2050.
  • The total national GHG emission reduced by 43.5% of the business-as-usual3 level by 2030.
  • Carbon sequestration capacity increased by 20% (by 2030) and by 30% (by 2050) of the business-as-usual level.

Methane emissions reduced by at least 30% of the 2020 levels by 2030

  • Methane emissions reduced by 30% of the 2020 levels by 2030, and by 40% of the 2030 levels by 2050.

The current Vietnamese regulations also impose various obligations and requirements on entities operating in Vietnam, in an effort to deal with climate change. The two key goals are the reduction of GHG emissions and protection of the ozone layer.

Greenhouse gas emission reduction

The Law on Environmental Protection sets out a list of entities in Vietnam that are subject to GHG inventory (GHG emitters). Accordingly:

  • GHG emitters are required to reduce their GHG emissions by, among other things, conducting GHG inventory, and building and implementing their own plans for GHG reduction.
  • Each GHG emitter can only discharge GHG within its GHG emission quota allocated by the MONRE (expected to commence in 2026) on an annual basis, its latest inventory result and its GHG reduction planIt can only exceed its quota by buying, bidding for or borrowing GHG emission quotas or carbon credits of other entities in the carbon trading market.

GHG emitters

  • Any entity having annual GHG emission of 3000 tons of CO₂e and upwards;
  • Any thermal power plant or industrial production facility with a total annual energy consumption of 1000 tons of oil equivalent and upwards;
  • Any road freight transport company with total annual fuel consumption of 1000 tons of oil equivalent and upwards;
  • Any commercial building with a total annual energy consumption of 1000 tons of oil equivalent and upwards; and
  • Any solid waste treatment facility with an annual operating capacity of 65,000 tons and upwards.
Carbon trading market

Although regulations on carbon trading market remain general and overarching, at this stage it appears from the LOEP and its guiding documents that the carbon trading exchange will operate as follows:

  • Selling, buying, bidding for, transferring, borrowing, returning carbon credits/GHG emission quotas must be conducted via the carbon trading market (which is not yet established).
  • GHG emitters, and any organisation or individual having carbon credits (ie a tradable certificate recording the right to emit 1 ton of COor CO₂e obtained from domestic or international carbon credit trading or setoff programs and projects), wishing to trade their carbon credits and GHG emission quotas on the carbon market must submit an application to the MONRE to have such credits/quotas certified by it; and, based on the certificates from the MONRE, proceed to trade their carbon credits/GHG emission quotas on the carbon trading market.

No further guidance on the operation of the carbon trading exchange has been provided. A detailed legal framework on trading carbon credits in Vietnam is road-mapped to be completed by the end of 2027.

The Government seeks to establish and pilot the domestic carbon market from 2025 to 2027, envisioning that the domestic carbon market will be officially operating in 2028 and connected with carbon markets in the region and the world by 2030.

Ozone layer protection

The law imposes nationwide caps on consumption of ozone-depleting substances and HFC (controlled substances), and restricts the production, import and export of certain ozone-depleting substances and products containing, or made with, such substances.

Use of controlled substances and products containing, or made with, controlled substances must be registered with, and reported to, the MONRE and such products are treated as hazardous waste.

Energy and natural resources

In line with international efforts to save energy and natural resources, Vietnam has made the following key international commitments and set the following national targets:

INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS4 NATIONAL TARGETS5

Coal-fuelled power generation phased out by 2040

  • The proportion of renewable energy (including hydroelectricity, wind power, solar power and biomass) increased to account for least 33% of the total national production of electricity by 2030, and 55% by 2050
  • No coal-fired thermal plant to be developed from 2030

Stop deforestation by 2030

  • Increasing forest cover to at least 42% by 2030 and to 43% by 2050

Further, under the existing regulations on environment protection, there are various obligations and requirements imposed on entities operating in Vietnam, in an attempt to preserve energy and natural resources. Specifically:

Energy

Enterprises in Vietnam are subject to various specific obligations for efficient and effective use of energy, including improving operation systems and processes to optimise the use of energy, utilising existing alternative energies (eg solar power, daylight and natural wind), and regularly repairing and maintaining devices/equipment to minimise energy loss.

Specifically, the demand for renewable energy has been rising rapidly in recent years, with the Government expecting that renewable energy projects (including small-sized hydro, wind, solar and biomass projects) will account for 21% of the overall electricity capacity by 2030. In order to meet these targets, the Government has rolled out a series of regulations aimed at clarifying the legal framework and incentives for the development of renewable energy projects. For more details on renewable energy, please see our previous Insight.

Natural resources

With the aim of preserving natural resources, entities using eg land, water, air and minerals in their operation are required to:

  • obtain required licences/permits before exploiting and using natural resources (eg mining permits, surface/groundwater exploitation and use permits);
  • apply advanced technologies and techniques in business to minimise and prevent pollution;
  • monitor the release of wastewater, dust and emissions into the environment; and
  • restore, remedy and improve polluted areas, and compensate for loss and damage from pollution caused by such enterprises.

Waste treatment and recycling

At the resumed session of the fifth meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme in February and March 2022, Vietnam joined other member states to adopt a resolution to negotiate a legally binding agreement on ending plastic pollution by 2024.

Nationally, the Prime Minister has set out the following specific targets to deal with waste management:6

  • by 2025, 85% of plastic waste generated must be reused, recycled and treated, and 50% of the plastic waste in seas and oceans must be reduced;
  • by 2030, 95% of urban municipal solid waste must be collected and treated properly, and 100% of urban organic waste and 70% of rural organic waste must be recycled; and
  • by 2050, 100% of solid waste must be collected and treated properly.

Within the current legal framework, entities in Vietnam are, in general, required to take proper measures in dealing with waste treatment and recycling of recyclable products or packages. These include:

For waste treatment:

  • declaring the type and volume of hazardous waste in the application for an environment permit or environmental registration;
  • collecting, classifying and storing waste separately by type, to avoid pollution;
  • collecting and transferring certain waste to licensed establishments for proper waste treatment; and
  • reducing, reusing and recycling waste, to optimise energy.

For recycling:

  • by itself, or via a third-party recycling service provider, conducting recycling in accordance with the mandatory recycling rate and specifications stipulated under the law; or
  • financially contributing to the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund, to assist with the recycling of products and packages.

Green marketing

There are a number of national labelling programs in Vietnam to certify products and services as environment-friendly and meeting a certain level of environmental protection and sustainable development.

The most popular labelling programs are Vietnam Green Label (Nhãn Xanh Việt Nam) and Energy Label (Nhãn Năng Lượng), details of which are set out below:

  VIETNAM GREEN LABEL ENERGY LABEL
In-charge authority

MONRE

Ministry of Industry and Trade

Criteria

Products/ services made from environmentally friendly materials/ technologies

Products meeting the minimum level of energy consumption efficiency.

The Energy Label is compulsory for some products as stipulated by law.

Validity

3 years

  • The label will be withdrawn if the product contains false information or a higher energy consumption level than has been announced.  
  • Products must be re-labelled upon any changes in their energy consumption levels.
Incentives

Reduction of corporate income taxes and reduction of land rent

Not provided by law – products with the Energy Label can have higher competitive ability.

Licensing and ongoing compliance supervision requirements

Based on environmental factors such as exploitation of natural resources or environmental sensitivities of an investment project, the law classifies investment projects into four groups (Group I to Group IV), with decreasing levels of risk of creating adverse impacts on the environment. Depending on the classification, an investment project may be subject to various environmental licensing requirements before going into operation and to reporting obligations during its operation. The key requirements are set out below:

PROCEDURES TIMING APPLICABLE SUBJECT
Conduct preliminary environmental impact assessment

In pre-feasibility study or investment approval phase

Group I projects

Conduct environmental impact assessment

In feasibility study preparation phase

Group I projects and some of Group II projects

Apply for environmental permit

Before commissioning of waste treatment facilities; or before obtaining specialised environment/ investment/ construction permits or approvals

Group I, II, and III projects where there is hazardous waste generation or wastewater, dust, or emission that needs to be treated

Conduct environmental registration

Before operation, waste generation, or issuance of construction permits

Projects generating waste but not subject to environmental permits (save for certain projects stipulated by law)

Inform authority of environment protection work completion (eg waste treatment system)

Before operation

Projects/ enterprises not subject to environmental permit

Obtain specialised permits (eg mining permit, surface water or groundwater exploitation and use permit)

Before operation

Projects having relevant exploitation of natural resources activities

Submit annual report on environment protection to local authority

During operation

All projects/ enterprises

 

Social

The 'S' component in ESG comprises a wide range of social factors in a company's relationship with its community, suppliers, customers and employees. In Vietnam, these issues are most prevalent in employment law. In addition, investors are frequently concerned with data privacy laws, which are fairly new and still developing in Vietnam. Below we give an overview of common issues under Vietnamese law and those that investors are most concerned about.

Diversity and inclusion

The Labour Code7 generally prohibits an employer from discriminating against its employees on the basis of gender, race, colour, social class, marital status, beliefs, religion, HIV infection, disability, or establishment of or participation in the activities of a trade union. Regarding gender equality, male and female employees must be treated equally in terms of recruitment, employment, training, working hours, salary and promotion.

Discriminatory practices may subject the employer to a wide range of administrative fines. Further, discriminatory conduct on the basis of gender that prevents the employment of any person may constitute criminal liability under the Penal Code.

Forced labour

The law generally prohibits labour coercion (defined as using force, threatening to use force or using other tricks to coerce a worker to work contrary to their will); maltreatment or sexual harassment at the workplace; and taking advantage of an apprenticeship or trade-training program to seek profit from or exploit an employee.

Breach of such prohibitions may subject the employer to administrative sanctions or criminal penalties, depending on the degree of violation.

Child labour

The Labour Code permits the employment of children under 18, subject to different levels of protection for three age groups: under 13, from 13 to under 15, and from 15 to under 18. Applicable requirements include record-keeping and reporting obligations, restrictions on work hours and restrictions on types of jobs.

Sexual harassment

Sexual harassment in the workplace is prohibited. The new Labour Code of 2019 sets out various protective measures preventing sexual harassment, which are more intensive than those in the old Labour Code of 2012. Among other things:

  • Enterprises may discharge an employee on the basis of them having committed sexual harassment conduct as prescribed under the enterprise's internal labour rules; and
  • An employee may unilaterally terminate their labour contract without providing any advance notice if they are sexually harassed at the workplace.

Privacy and data protection

Vietnam's relatively new and still-developing data privacy laws are spread across different statutes. Primary legislation includes the Civil Code, the Law on Cybersecurity and the Law on Information Technology, which tend to be broadly drafted, thus leaving their precise application open to interpretation.

Current data privacy laws generally require the data owner's consent for any collection, use or disclosure of personal data, and require data processors to implement managerial and technical measures to safeguard personal data.

In early 2021, the Government issued a draft decree on personal data protection, which proposes fairly strict and developed rules on data privacy. Among other things, the draft proposes a definition of sensitive personal data, exceptions to the consent requirement, stringent rules on cross-border transfer of data, and higher penalties for administrative violations of data privacy laws.

Working conditions

Vietnamese law has specific regulations in relation to working conditions of employees, including:

Salary

The salary must be at least equal to the regional minimum salary issued by the Government from time to time (typically annually) for each geographic area. As an example, for Ho Chi Minh City, the regional minimum salary applicable from 1 July 2022 is VND 4,680,000 (c. US$200) per month.

Working hours

An employee’s normal working hours must not exceed 8 hours per day, if the normal working hours are stipulated on a daily basis, or 10 hours per day, if the normal working hours are stipulated on a weekly basis. The maximum working hours permitted per week is 48. Regular working hours and overtime are respectively capped at 8 hours/day and 200 hours/year in general.

Working overtime

Overtime working hours are capped at: 50% of normal working hours in one day (provided that the total normal working hours and overtime hours in one day do not exceed 12 hours); 40 hours in one month; and 200 hours in one year (or 300 hours in certain special circumstances). To support economic recovery and growth after COVID-19, employers can apply, from 1 January 2022, a 300-hour cap in one year, and from 1 April 2022, a between 40-hour and 60-hour cap in one month, in each case with employees' consent. Employees working overtime are entitled to overtime payment at higher salary rates.

Occupational health and safety

Employers must implement measures to ensure safe and hygienic working conditions, which includes organising periodic medical examinations.

Social, health and unemployment insurance (SHUI)

Both employees (whether domestic or foreign) working under labour contracts and employers must make SHUI contributions. SHUI benefits include maternity leave allowances, sick leave allowances, pension and unemployment allowances.

Labour union and strikes

  • Internal labour rules (ILRs): Employers must have ILRs setting out, among other things, working conditions, order in the workplace, labour discipline and applicable disciplinary penalties. Employers with more than 10 employees must issue and register written ILRs with the labour authorities.
  • Employee representative groups (ERGs): Traditionally, Trade Union (managed by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour) is the only regulated organisation representing employees in an entity to protect the employees' rights and interests. As a consequence of Vietnam entering into various free trade agreements, the Labour Code now allows employees to set up or join an ERG operating independently from the existing state-run Trade Union system. An ERG must be registered with the authorities.
  • Strikes: Employees have the right to go on strike provided, among other things, the strike is organised and led by a qualified ERG, and conducted in accordance with the procedures stipulated under the law.

Governance

Governance, or 'G', covers a broad range of corporate activities, including board and management structures, anti-bribery and corruption compliance, executive remuneration and information disclosure.

Anti-bribery and corruption

Anti-bribery and corruption is a key concern in any entity's governance. Regulations on anti-bribery and corruption are included in the Law on Anti-Bribery and Corruption (setting out general anti-bribery and corruption requirements) and the Penal Code (setting out bribery criminal offences and applicable penalties).

It is worth noting that Vietnamese law captures both public and private (commercial) bribery. Also, criminal liability for bribery offences is only applicable to individuals. Accordingly, when it comes to an entity's bribery act, the management of the entity and any person involved in the act may be subject to criminal liability in their personal capacity.

In practice, the Vietnamese Government has recently taken more aggressive measures in enforcement of anti-bribery and corruption, especially in the public sector.

Executive remuneration

The ESG consideration regarding executive remuneration involves inclusion of sustainability targets, to hold executives accountable and demonstrate their commitment to sustainability.

Under Vietnamese law, there is no such requirement to take a sustainability target into account when determining executive remuneration. However, together with investors' growing demand for higher standards of ESG compliance, this is likely to become a market trend.

Disclosure of information and ESG report

Vietnamese law requires Vietnamese public companies to disclose ESG performance in their annual reports, including water and energy consumption, employee-related policies, green capital market activities and their contribution to the community. The annual reports must be made public and submitted to the State Securities Commission of Vietnam and the relevant Stock Exchange.

In addition, public companies in Vietnam are required to disclose their financial, corporate governance and operation information (eg financial statements, corporate governance reports and insider trading transactions).

Private companies are required to submit certain periodical reports to the authorities (such as reports on implementation of investment projects and reports on labour usage), which are less extensive than those public companies must submit and do not include ESG considerations. 

Board diversity and inclusion

Board diversity and inclusion, as an ESG consideration, generally refers to the variety of backgrounds of a board of directors' membership in terms of skills, ages, genders, cultures, ethnicities and independence from the company's internal pressures.

Under Vietnamese law, a board of directors needs to have independent directors in certain cases (eg one fifth of an unlisted public company's board directors must be independent).    

Other than the requirements noted above, Vietnamese law does not have any specific regulations on board diversity and inclusion. In practice, some companies have adopted a higher standard, to ensure board diversity in terms of gender and background.

How we can help

To keep pace with growing demand in the area of ESG, companies should stay informed about the applicable ESG legal framework and current ESG practices, and periodically measure their current ESG performance against such requirements and practices.

As an international firm, Allens has extensive experience advising clients on ESG. In Vietnam, we have advised a variety of clients on a span of ESG-related issues. Our combination of international expertise and local experience helps us navigate clients' concerns and add value to their businesses. Our ESG-related services include:

  • advising on ESG-related regulatory requirements;
  • undertaking risk and compliance assessments and reviews;
  • reviewing and updating contractual documentation, to address ESG requirements;
  • conducting internal compliance investigations and training;
  • conducting due diligence on ESG-related matters as part of M&A deals, eg:
    • conducting an assessment of the target's compliance with regulations and voluntary commitments they have made, to establish whether they are compliant and whether their position is consistent with their own commitments;
    • identifying the target's material ESG risks;
    • making recommendations to rectify ESG non-compliance issues and for any improvements to be implemented post transaction; and
  • advising borrowers and lenders involved in green financing and sustainable financing arrangements.

Link Credit: https://www.allens.com.au/insights-news/insights/2022/08/a-snapshot-of-esg-in-vietnam/ 


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  • Discuss political issues, religious discrimination, or ethnic discrimination;

  • Use the Services in a manner that may create a conflict of interest or undermine the purposes of the Services, such as trading reviews with other users or writing or soliciting fake reviews;

  • Use the Services to upload, transmit, distribute, store or otherwise make available in any way: files that contain viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful; any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other prohibited form of solicitation; any private information of any third party, including addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, number and feature in the personal identity document (e.g., National Insurance numbers, passport numbers) or credit card numbers; any material which does or may infringe any copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property or privacy rights of any other person; any material which is defamatory of any person, obscene, offensive, pornographic, hateful or inflammatory; any material that would constitute, encourage or provide instructions for a criminal offence, dangerous activities or self-harm; any material that is deliberately designed to provoke or antagonise people, especially trolling and bullying, or is intended to harass, harm, hurt, scare, distress, embarrass or upset people; any material that contains a threat of any kind, including threats of physical violence; any material that is racist or discriminatory, including discrimination on the basis of someone’s race, religion, age, gender, disability or sexuality; any answers, responses, comments, opinions, analysis or recommendations that you are not properly licensed or otherwise qualified to provide; or material that, in the sole judgment of LinkPower, is objectionable or which restricts or inhibits any other person from using the Services, or which may expose LinkPower, the Services or its users to any harm or liability of any type.

In addition to the above, your access to and use of the Services must, at all times, be compliant with our Community Guidelines.

We reserve the right, at any time and without prior notice, to remove or disable access to content at our discretion for any reason or no reason. Some of the reasons we may remove or disable access to content may include finding the content objectionable, in violation of these Terms or our Community Guidelines, or otherwise harmful to the Services or our users. Our automated systems analyze your content to provide you personally relevant product features, such as customized search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored.

6. Intellectual Property Rights

We respect intellectual property rights and ask you to do the same. As a condition of your access to and use of the Services, you agree not to use the Services to infringe on any intellectual property rights. We reserve the right, with or without notice, at any time and in our sole discretion to block access to and/or terminate the accounts of any user who infringes or is alleged to infringe any copyrights or other intellectual property rights.

7. Content

As between you and LinkPower, all content, software, images, text, graphics, illustrations, logos, patents, trademarks, service marks, copyrights, photographs, audio, videos, music on and “look and feel” of the Services, and all intellectual property rights related thereto (the “LinkPower Content”), are either owned or licensed by LinkPower, it being understood that you or your licensors will own any User Content (as defined below) you upload or transmit through the Services. Use of the LinkPower Content or materials on the Services for any purpose not expressly permitted by these Terms is strictly prohibited. Such content may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed or otherwise exploited for any purpose whatsoever without our or, where applicable, our licensors’ prior written consent. We and our licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to their content.

You acknowledge and agree that we may generate revenues, increase goodwill or otherwise increase our value from your use of the Services, and except as specifically permitted by us in these Terms or in another agreement you enter into with us, you will have no right to share in any such revenue, goodwill or value whatsoever.

Subject to the terms and conditions of the Terms, you are hereby granted a non-exclusive, limited, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable, worldwide license to access and use the Services, including to download the Platform on a permitted device, and to access the LinkPower Content solely for your personal, non-commercial use through your use of the Services and solely in compliance with these Terms. LinkPower reserves all rights not expressly granted herein in the Services and the LinkPower Content. You acknowledge and agree that LinkPower may terminate this license at any time for any reason or no reason.

You acknowledge and agree that when you view content provided by others on the Services, you are doing so at your own risk. The content on our Services is provided for general information only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our Services.

We make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether expressed or implied, that any LinkPower Content (including User Content) is accurate, complete or up to date. Where our Services contain links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources. Such links should not be interpreted as approval by us of those linked websites or information you may obtain from them. You acknowledge that we have no obligation to pre-screen, monitor, review, or edit any content posted by you and other users on the Services (including User Content).

8. Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless LinkPower, its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, agents and advisors from any and all claims, liabilities, costs, and expenses, including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees and expenses, arising out of a breach by you or any user of your account of these Terms or arising out of a breach of your obligations, representation and warranties under these Terms.

9. Disclaimer and Limit of Liability

This is our disclaimer of legal liability for the quality, safety, or reliability of our Services.

LINKPOWER AND ITS AFFILIATES MAKE NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY ABOUT THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ANY REPRESENTATION THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND PROVIDE THE SERVICES (INCLUDING CONTENT AND INFORMATION) ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, LINKPOWER AND ITS AFFILIATES DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF TITLE, ACCURACY OF DATA, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

NOTHING IN THESE TERMS SHALL AFFECT ANY STATUTORY RIGHTS THAT YOU CANNOT CONTRACTUALLY AGREE TO ALTER OR WAIVE AND ARE LEGALLY ALWAYS ENTITLED TO AS A CONSUMER.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WE MAKE NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION TO YOU WITH RESPECT TO THEM.

IN PARTICULAR WE DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT TO YOU THAT:

  • YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS;

  • YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE OR FREE FROM ERROR;

  • ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE; AND

  • DEFECTS IN THE OPERATION OR FUNCTIONALITY OF ANY SOFTWARE PROVIDED TO YOU AS PART OF THE SERVICES WILL BE CORRECTED.

NO CONDITIONS, WARRANTIES OR OTHER TERMS (INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED TERMS AS TO SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR PURPOSE OR CONFORMANCE WITH DESCRIPTION) APPLY TO THE SERVICES EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY ARE EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THE TERMS. WE MAY CHANGE, SUSPEND, WITHDRAW OR RESTRICT THE AVAILABILITY OF ALL OR ANY PART OF OUR PLATFORM FOR BUSINESS AND OPERATIONAL REASONS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE

10. Limitation of Liability

These are the limits of legal liability we may have to you.

NOTHING IN THESE TERMS SHALL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY FOR LOSSES WHICH MAY NOT BE LAWFULLY EXCLUDED OR LIMITED BY APPLICABLE LAW. THIS INCLUDES LIABILITY FOR DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY OUR NEGLIGENCE OR THE NEGLIGENCE OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR SUBCONTRACTORS AND FOR FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION.

SUBJECT TO THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE, WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR:

(I) ANY LOSS OF PROFIT (WHETHER INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY); (II) ANY LOSS OF GOODWILL; (III) ANY LOSS OF OPPORTUNITY; (IV) ANY LOSS OF DATA SUFFERED BY YOU; OR (V) ANY INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSSES WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU. ANY OTHER LOSS WILL BE LIMITED TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY YOU TO LINKPOWER WITHIN THE LAST 12 MONTHS.

ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE WHICH MAY BE INCURRED BY YOU AS A RESULT OF:

  • ANY RELIANCE PLACED BY YOU ON THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY OR EXISTENCE OF ANY ADVERTISING, OR AS A RESULT OF ANY RELATIONSHIP OR TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND ANY ADVERTISER OR SPONSOR WHOSE ADVERTISING APPEARS ON THE SERVICE;

  • ANY CHANGES WHICH WE MAY MAKE TO THE SERVICES, OR FOR ANY PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY CESSATION IN THE PROVISION OF THE SERVICES (OR ANY FEATURES WITHIN THE SERVICES);

  • THE DELETION OF, CORRUPTION OF, OR FAILURE TO STORE, ANY CONTENT AND OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DATA MAINTAINED OR TRANSMITTED BY OR THROUGH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES;

  • YOUR FAILURE TO PROVIDE US WITH ACCURATE ACCOUNT INFORMATION;

  • OR YOUR FAILURE TO KEEP YOUR PASSWORD OR ACCOUNT DETAILS SECURE AND CONFIDENTIAL.

PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ONLY PROVIDE OUR PLATFORM FOR DOMESTIC AND PRIVATE USE. YOU AGREE NOT TO USE OUR PLATFORM FOR ANY COMMERCIAL OR BUSINESS PURPOSES, AND WE HAVE NO LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF GOODWILL OR BUSINESS REPUTATION, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.

IF DEFECTIVE DIGITAL CONTENT THAT WE HAVE SUPPLIED DAMAGES A DEVICE OR DIGITAL CONTENT BELONGING TO YOU AND THIS IS CAUSED BY OUR FAILURE TO USE REASONABLE CARE AND SKILL, WE WILL EITHER REPAIR THE DAMAGE OR PAY YOU COMPENSATION. HOWEVER, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGE THAT YOU COULD HAVE AVOIDED BY FOLLOWING OUR ADVICE TO APPLY AN UPDATE OFFERED TO YOU FREE OF CHARGE OR FOR DAMAGE THAT WAS CAUSED BY YOU FAILING TO CORRECTLY FOLLOW INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS OR TO HAVE IN PLACE THE MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ADVISED BY US.

THESE LIMITATIONS ON OUR LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL APPLY WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF OR SHOULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF ANY SUCH LOSSES ARISING.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MOBILE CHARGES THAT MAY APPLY TO YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICE, INCLUDING TEXT-MESSAGING AND DATA CHARGES. IF YOU’RE UNSURE WHAT THOSE CHARGES MAY BE, YOU SHOULD ASK YOUR SERVICE PROVIDER BEFORE USING THE SERVICE.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ANY DISPUTE YOU HAVE WITH ANY THIRD PARTY ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, BY WAY OF EXAMPLE AND NOT LIMITATION, ANY CARRIER, COPYRIGHT OWNER OR OTHER USER, IS DIRECTLY BETWEEN YOU AND SUCH THIRD PARTY, AND YOU IRREVOCABLY RELEASE US AND OUR AFFILIATES FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS AND DAMAGES (ACTUAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL) OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH SUCH DISPUTES.

11. Additional Terms

  1. Entire Agreement: These Terms constitute the whole legal agreement between you and LinkPower and govern your use of the Services and completely replace any prior agreements between you and LinkPower in relation to the Services.

  2. Age Limit: The Services are only for people 18 years old and over. By using the Services, you confirm that you are over the relevant age specified herein. If we learn that someone under the relevant age specified above is using the Services, we will terminate that user’s account.

  3. No Waiver: Our failure to insist upon or enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.

  4. Security: We do not guarantee that our Services will be secure or free from bugs or viruses. You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform to access our Services. You should use your own virus protection software.

  5. Severability: If any court of law, having jurisdiction to decide on this matter, rules that any provision of these Terms is invalid, then that provision will be removed from the Terms without affecting the rest of the Terms, and the remaining provisions of the Terms will continue to be valid and enforceable.

12. Questions

We welcome any questions, comments and requests regarding these Terms of Use. Please address them to info@linkpower.eco.

 

PRIVACY POLICY

Effective 1 November 2023

Last Updated October 2023

Your Privacy Matters

Central to LinkPower’s mission is our commitment to be transparent about the data we collect about you, how it is used and with whom it is shared. LinkPower (the "Company" or "we") are committed to protecting and respecting your privacy.

This Privacy Policy (together with our Terms of Use) sets out how we will process and use any Personal Data we collect from you, or that you provide to us, including cookies. Please read the following carefully to understand our views and practices regarding your personal data and how we will handle it. By visiting www.linkpower.eco (the "Platform"), you indicate that you accept and consent to the terms and conditions set out in this Privacy Policy as amended from time to time.

1. Introduction

We are an online social platform. Our registered users (“Members”) share their identities, engage with their network, exchange knowledge and insights, and post and view relevant content, amongst others. Content and data on some of our Services is viewable to non-members (“Visitors”).

Our Privacy Policy applies to any Member or Visitor to our platform.

2. Services

This Privacy Policy applies to your use of our Services. As a Visitor or Member of our Services, the collection, use and sharing of your personal data is subject to this Privacy Policy and other documents referenced in this Privacy Policy, as well as updates.

3. Changes to Our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. Any changes we make to our Privacy Policy in the future will be posted on this page and, where appropriate, notified to you by e-mail. It is your responsibility to check periodically for any updates or changes to our Privacy Policy.

4. Other

We work constantly to improve our services and develop new features to make our Products better for you and our community. As a result, we may need to update these Terms from time to time to accurately reflect our services and practices, to promote a safe and secure experience on our Products and services, and/or to comply with applicable law. We will only make any changes if the provisions are no longer appropriate or if they are incomplete, and only if the changes are reasonable and take due account of your interests, or if the changes are required for safety and security purposes or to comply with applicable law.

We will notify you at least 30 days before we make changes to these Terms and give you an opportunity to review them before they go into effect, unless changes are required by law. Once any updated Terms are in effect, you will be bound by them if you continue to use our Products.

We hope that you will continue using our Products, but if you do not agree to our updated Terms and no longer want to be a part of the LinkPower community, you can delete your account at any time.

Key Terms

5. Collection of Personal Data

"Personal Data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. We will collect and process the following Personal Data:

 

  • Information about you that you give us by filling in forms on the Platform (including, but not limited to, joining our mailing list and/or submitting an application form to join our whitelist), by corresponding with us by phone, email or otherwise, or by using the functions provided on the Platform. For individual users, such information may include your legal name, alias, address, date of birth, e-mail address, phone number. For corporate users, such information may include all of the foregoing in respect of your employees, directors, officers, shareholders and principals, and information contained in certificates of incorporation or formation.

  • Information relating to of each of your visits to the Platform including the Internet protocol (IP) address used to connect your device to the Internet, browser type and version, time zone setting, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform), the full Uniform Resource Locators (URL), page response times, download errors, length of visits to certain pages and methods used to browse away from the page.

6. Uses of Personal Data

We use your data to provide, support, personalize and develop our Services.

How we use your personal data will depend on which Services you use, how you use those Services and the choices you make in your settings. We use the data that we have about you to provide and personalize our Services, including with the help of automated systems and inferences we make, so that our Services (including ads) can be more relevant and useful to you and others.

We use your Personal Data in the following ways:

  • To carry out our obligations arising from any contracts entered into between you and us and to provide you with the services, information and updates that you request from us (including your participation in our activities or events);

  • To ensure that content on our Platform is presented in the most effective manner for you and for your device;

  • To administer our Platform and for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research, statistical and survey purposes; and

  • As part of our efforts to keep the Platform safe and secure.

7. Cookies

Cookies are small files that will be downloaded to your device with your consent. Our Platform uses cookies to distinguish you from other users of our Platform. By continuing to browse the Platform, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

We use and store certain essential cookies which are necessary for security and for the provision of information requested by yourself when you access the Platform, such as authentication cookies and user input cookies.

We also use the following non-essential cookies:

  • Analytics cookies: These cookies enable us to collect and analyse information about how users access the Platform, including identifying a third party website which directed a user to our Platform.

  • Site performance cookies: These cookies enable us to enhance the operation of the Platform and the services offered.

  • Third party Advertising cookies: These cookies enable third parties to show you relevant advertisements when you access the Platform. We do not attempt to create profiles of users for the purposes of delivering advertising.

 

Cookies may be erased when you exit the Platform or close the browser. Others are saved on your device for your next visit. You can delete all cookies on your computer and set your browser to prevent cookies from being placed by our Platform. However, please note that some functionalities may not work if you do so.

8. Disclosure of your Personal Data

We have the right to share your Personal Data with:

  • Any member of our group, which means our affiliated companies;

  • Selected third parties including business partners, suppliers and sub-contractors providing search engine, data analytics, authorization, authentication, and hosting and storage services for the performance of any contract we enter into with them or you and for the improvement and optimisation of our site;

  • To third parties in the event that (i) we sell or buy any business or assets, in which case we will disclose your Personal Data to the prospective seller or buyer of such business or assets and/or (ii) if the Company or substantially all of its assets are acquired by a third party, in which case Personal Data held by it about its customers will be part of the assets transferred to such third party; and

  • If we are under a duty to disclose or share your Personal Data in order to comply with any legal obligation, or in order to enforce or apply our Terms of Use or other agreements; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Company, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organisations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

9. Transfer of Personal Data

Your Personal Data may be transferred to and stored in different jurisdictions and may also be processed by staff operating within the various countries who work for us or for one of our contractors.

10. Retention of Personal Data

We will only retain your Personal Data for as long as necessary for the purposes collected, as set out at paragraph 3 of this Privacy Policy, and for any legal, tax, or accounting requirements.

To determine the appropriate retention period for the Personal Data we hold, we consider the amount, nature and sensitivity of the Personal Data, the risk of harm from unauthorised use or disclosure of your Personal Data, the reasons why we handle your Personal Data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

In some circumstances, such as the closing or termination of your Account, we may anonymise your Personal Data so that it can no longer be associated with you for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.

11. Security

We will implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures to ensure a level of security appropriate to the risks of accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorized disclosure of or access to your Personal Data.

We monitor for and try to prevent security breaches. We implement security safeguards designed to protect your data. We regularly monitor our systems for possible vulnerabilities and attacks. However, we cannot warrant the security of any information that you send us. There is no guarantee that data may not be accessed, disclosed, altered, or destroyed by breach of any of our physical, technical, or managerial safeguards.

The transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we will do our best to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Data transmitted to our site.

Where you have chosen a password which enables you to access certain parts of our site, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share the password with anyone.

12. Your Rights

 

Right of Access:

  • You have the right to access your Personal Data which we have collected and used.

Right to rectification:

  • You have the right to require us to rectify any inaccurate Personal Data we hold about you;

  • You also have the right to have incomplete Personal Data we hold about you completed, by providing a supplementary statement to us.

Right to restriction:

  • You can restrict our processing of your Personal Data where:

  • You think we hold inaccurate Personal Data about you;

  • Our handling of your Personal Data breaks the law, but you do not want us to delete it and request that we restrict our use of the Personal Data instead; and/or

  • We no longer need to process your Personal Data, but you want us to keep it for legal reasons. Where you exercise your right to restrict us from using your Personal Data, we will only process your Personal Data with your consent, except for storage purposes and to handle legal claims. We will inform you before any restriction of processing is lifted.

Right to data portability:

  • You have the right to receive your Personal Data in a structured, standard machine readable format and to send this to another organisation controlling your Personal Data.

  • This right only applies to your Personal Data we are handling because you consented to us using it or because there is a contract in place between us.

Right to erasure:

  • You have the right to require us to erase your Personal Data which we are handling in the following circumstances:

    • Where we no longer need to use your Personal Data for the purposes for which they were collected;

    • Where we needed your consent to use your Personal Data, you have withdrawn your consent and there is no other lawful way we can continue to use your Personal Data;

    • When you object to our use of your Personal Data and we have no compelling reason to carry on using it;

    • If our use of your Personal Data has broken the law; and

    • When we must erase your Personal Data to comply with any applicable law.

Right to object:

  • You have the right to object to our handling of Personal Data as set out at paragraph 3 of this Privacy Policy, or for the purpose of direct marketing. We will stop upon your request unless we have compelling grounds as to why our use of your Personal Data should continue.

13. Third Parties

Our site may, from time to time, contain links to and from the websites of third party networks, advertisers and affiliates. If you follow a link to any of these websites, please note that these websites have their own privacy policies and that we do not accept any responsibility or liability for your access to these websites. Third parties may also use cookies which we have no control over. Please check their individual privacy policies for more information on how your personal data will be handled by these websites.

Additional Terms

14. Cross-Border Data Transfers

We store and use your data outside your country.

We process data both inside and outside of Vietnam and rely on legally-provided mechanisms to lawfully transfer data across borders. Countries where we process data may have laws which are different from, and potentially not as protective as, the laws of your own country.

15. Communications

We contact you and enable communications between Members. We offer settings to control what messages you receive and how often you receive some types of messages.

We will contact you through email, mobile phone, notices posted on our websites or apps, messages to your LinkPower inbox, and other ways through our Services, including text messages and push notifications. We will send you messages about the availability of our Services, security, or other service-related issues. We also send messages about how to use our Services, network updates, reminders, job suggestions and promotional messages from us and our partners. You may change your communication preferences at any time. Please be aware that you cannot opt out of receiving service messages from us, including security and legal notices.

We also enable communications between you and others through our Services, including for example invitations, groups and messages between connections.

16. Advertising

We serve you tailored ads both on and off our Services. We offer you choices regarding personalized ads, but you cannot opt-out of seeing other ads.

We target (and measure the performance of) ads to Members, Visitors and others both on and off our Services directly or through a variety of partners, using the following data, whether separately or combined:

  • Data from advertising technologies on and off our Services, pixels, ad tags, cookies, and device identifiers;

  • Member-provided information;

  • Data from your use of our Services;

  • Information from advertising partners, vendors and publishers.

We will show you ads called sponsored content which look similar to non-sponsored content, except that they are labeled as advertising (e.g., as “ad” or “sponsored”).

17. Ad Choices

We adhere to self-regulatory principles for interest-based advertising and participate in industry opt-outs from such ads. This does not opt you out of receiving advertising; you will continue to get other ads by advertisers not listed with these self regulatory tools. You can also opt-out specifically from our uses of certain categories of data to show you more relevant ads.

18. Marketing

We promote our Services to you and others. In addition to advertising our Services, we use Members’ data and content for invitations and communications promoting membership and network growth, engagement and our Services.

19. Direct Marketing

We currently do not share personal data with third parties for their direct marketing purposes without your permission.

20. Developing Services and Research

We develop our Services and conduct research.

We use data, including public feedback, to conduct research and development for our Services in order to provide you and others with a better, more intuitive and personalized experience, and drive membership growth and engagement on our Services.

21. Surveys

Polls and surveys are conducted by us and others through our Services. You are not obligated to respond to polls or surveys, and you have choices about the information you provide. You may opt-out of survey invitations.

22. Insights That Do Not Identify You

We use your data to produce and share insights that do not identify you. For example, we may use your data to generate statistics about our members, their profession or industry, to calculate ad impressions served or clicked on, or to publish visitor demographics for a Service or create demographic workforce insights.

23. Security and Investigations

We use data for security, fraud prevention and investigations. We use your data (including your communications) for security purposes or to prevent or investigate possible fraud or other violations of our User Agreement and/or attempts to harm our Members, Visitors or others.

24. Legal Disclosures

We may need to share your data when we believe it’s required by law or to help protect the rights and safety of you, us or others.

It is possible that we will need to disclose information about you when required by law, subpoena, or other legal process or if we have a good faith belief that disclosure is reasonably necessary to (1) investigate, prevent or take action regarding suspected or actual illegal activities or to assist government enforcement agencies; (2) enforce our agreements with you; (3) investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations; (4) protect the security or integrity of our Services (such as by sharing with companies facing similar threats); or (5) exercise or protect the rights and safety of LinkPower, our Members, personnel or others. We attempt to notify Members about legal demands for their personal data when appropriate in our judgment, unless prohibited by law or court order or when the request is an emergency. We may dispute such demands when we believe, in our discretion, that the requests are overbroad, vague or lack proper authority, but we do not promise to challenge every demand.

25. Limits on liability

We work hard to provide the best Products we can and to specify clear guidelines for everyone who uses them. Our Products, however, are provided "As is," and to the extent permissible by law, we make no guarantees that they always will be safe, secure, or error-free, or that they will function without disruptions, delays, or imperfections. To the extent permitted by law, we also disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. We do not control or direct what people and others do or say, and we are not responsible for their actions or conduct (whether online or offline) or any content that they share (including offensive, inappropriate, obscene, unlawful and other objectionable content).

We cannot predict when issues may arise with our Products. Accordingly, our liability shall be limited to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, under no circumstance will we be liable to you for any lost profits, revenues, information, or data, or consequential, special, indirect, exemplary, punitive or incidental damages arising out of or related to these Terms of Use (however caused and on any theory of liability, including negligence), even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

26. Disputes

We try to provide clear rules so that we can limit or hopefully avoid disputes between you and us. If a dispute does arise, however, it's useful to know upfront where it can be resolved and what laws will apply.

If you are a consumer, the laws of the country in which you reside will apply to any claim, cause of action or dispute that you have against us that arises out of or relates to these Terms of Use, and you may resolve your claim in any competent court in that country that has jurisdiction over the claim. In all other cases, and for any claim, cause of action or dispute that LinkPower files against you, you and LinkPower agree that any such claim, cause of action or dispute must be resolved exclusively according to Vietnamese law.

27. Contact Information

We welcome any questions, comments and requests regarding this Privacy Policy. Please address them to info@linkpower.eco.

Community Guidelines

Thank you for using LinkPower. This list of “Dos and Don’ts” limit what you can and cannot do on our Services.

Dos

You agree that you will:

  • Comply with all applicable laws, including, without limitation, privacy laws, intellectual property laws, anti-spam laws, export control laws, tax laws, and regulatory requirements;

  • Provide accurate information to us and keep it updated;

  • Use your real name on your profile; and

  • Use the Services in a professional manner.

Don’ts

You agree that you will not:

  • Create a false identity on LinkPower, misrepresent your identity, create a Member profile for anyone other than yourself (a real person), or use or attempt to use another’s account;

  • Engage in any act of propaganda, sabotage and distortion of the government, political institutions, and State policies. In case of discovery, not only will the account be deleted, but we can also provide that user's information to the authorities for legal action;

  • Discuss political issues, religious discrimination, or ethnic discrimination;

  • Develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plugins and add-ons or any other technology) to scrape the Services or otherwise copy profiles and other data from the Services;

  • Override any security feature or bypass or circumvent any access controls or use limits of the Service (such as caps on keyword searches or profile views);

  • Copy, use, disclose or distribute any information obtained from the Services, whether directly or through third parties (such as search engines), without the consent of LinkPower;

  • Disclose information that you do not have the consent to disclose, such as confidential information of others;

  • Violate the intellectual property rights of others, including copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets or other proprietary rights.

  • Violate the intellectual property or other rights of LinkPower, including, without limitation, (i) copying or distributing our learning videos or other materials or (ii) copying or distributing our technology, unless it is released under open source licenses; (iii) using the word “LinkPower” or our logos in any business name, email, or URL except as provided in the Brand Guidelines;

  • Post anything that contains software viruses, worms, or any other harmful code;

  • Reverse engineer, disassemble, decipher or otherwise attempt to derive the source code for the Services or any related technology that is not open source;

  • Imply or state that you are affiliated with or endorsed by LinkPower without our express consent;

  • Use bots or other automated methods to access the Services, add or download contacts, send or redirect messages;

  • Monitor the Services’ availability, performance or functionality for any competitive purpose;

  • Engage in “framing,” “mirroring,” or otherwise simulating the appearance or function of the Services;

  • Overlay or otherwise modify the Services or their appearance (such as by inserting elements into the Services or removing, covering, or obscuring an advertisement included on the Services); and/or

  • Interfere with the operation of, or place an unreasonable load on, the Services (e.g., spam, denial of service attack, viruses, gaming algorithms).

Tell us if you see abusive content

If you see something you believe may violate our policies, whether in profiles, posts, messages, comments, or anywhere else, please report it to us. Please use the reporting tools responsibly and only for their intended purposes.

The above guidelines apply to all members. Depending on the severity of violation, we may limit the visibility of certain content, label it, or remove it entirely. Repeated or egregious offenses will result in account restriction. If you believe action taken on your content or your account was in error, you can submit an appeal.