The Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information will punish BTV Quang Minh and MC Van Hugo for false advertising.

On the afternoon of April 21, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, answering questions related to the handling of celebrities and artists who advertise falsely, Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do said that the Ministry of Information and Communications had previously developed a Code of Conduct on cyberspace and encouraged ministries and branches to issue a Code of Conduct in their fields.

This Code of Conduct is not a legal provision, is not mandatory and does not carry any sanctions.

Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do at the press conference.

According to Director Le Quang Tu Do, after a period of implementation, it can be seen that the Code of Conduct without sanctions will hardly have a deterrent effect. Therefore, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information has consulted to institutionalize some contents of this Code of Conduct into regulations in Decree 147 of the Government on management, provision and use of the Internet and information on the network.

"Currently, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is also proposing to institutionalize some contents of the Code of Conduct into the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Advertising (expected to be approved by the National Assembly at the next session), and at the same time institutionalize some contents into Decrees related to performing arts activities. When these contents are institutionalized into the Law and Decree, we will have sanctions to punish them," said Director Le Quang Tu Do.

Explaining the reason why there is still a need for a code of conduct without sanctions in addition to legal regulations, Director Le Quang Tu Do said that this is an experience that has been applied by many countries. If legal regulations are hard regulations, then codes of conduct will be soft regulations, creating a cultural environment and from there, allowing the audience to express their opinions towards suspect artists.

Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Le Quang Tu Do

Regarding the issue of handling counterfeit goods and infringing goods, Director Le Quang Tu Do also emphasized that in handling counterfeit goods and infringing goods, the specialized management ministry is responsible for assessing, determining, and concluding violations with infringing goods, not the ministry managing the advertising sector.

"For example, with fake milk and fake functional foods, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Industry and Trade have the role of assessing the quality of those products. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism does not have the function of assessing whether these are fake goods or not. After the assessment, determining that the goods are fake and there is illegal advertising, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will handle those who advertise violations. This has been institutionalized in Article 22, Decree 147," Mr. Le Quang Tu Do clearly stated.

According to Director Le Quang Tu Do, in the process of handling violations, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information found that many celebrities and artists have very weak awareness and understanding of the law on advertising activities. They accept contracts and advertise "indiscriminately", not caring whether the content is correct or not, leading to easy violations of the law. Therefore, educating and raising awareness with celebrities is very important to avoid unfortunate consequences.

The Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information also warned about some other common advertising violations, such as: Using images, equipment, costumes, names of medical units, titles of doctors and medical staff for advertising; Advertising functional foods that have the same effect as medicine; Advertising that causes confusion about the quality, uses, and prices of products; Applying the personal experiences of the advertiser to everyone.

In particular, when an artist or celebrity cooperates with a production company and is paid by that company in shares, stocks, or capital contributions, that celebrity will "accidentally" become a co-producer. And if that company produces counterfeit goods and is criminally prosecuted, that artist or celebrity will also be criminally prosecuted for producing counterfeit goods.

Deputy Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen at the press conference.

At the press conference, providing specific information about the recent cases of punishing celebrities for false advertising, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen - Deputy Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information said that recently the Department has coordinated to inspect, verify and handle two cases: BTV Quang Minh and MC Van Hugo, two individuals who advertised HIUP milk inaccurately with the published content.

During the verification of relevant documents, it was discovered that these two individuals advertised inconsistently with the published content. When asked to provide scripts, advertising materials, etc., the content did not match the documents and product announcements.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen said that after the working session on April 18, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information made a record to handle these two cases.

It is expected that BTV Quang Minh will be fined 37.5 million VND for 2 acts: "Advertising inconsistently with one of the documents" as prescribed in Point a, Clause 2, Article 52, Decree 38 and "Advertising using the names of units" as prescribed in Point a, Clause 4, Article 52, Decree 38.

MC Van Hugo is expected to be fined 70 million for "Advertising causing confusion about product quality" according to Clause 5, Article 34, Decree 38 "Violating regulations on prohibited acts in advertising activities".

Director of the Department of Performing Arts Nguyen Xuan Bac answered at a press conference on the afternoon of April 21.

Also at the press conference, Director of the Department of Performing Arts Nguyen Xuan Bac emphasized that any citizen who advertises falsely, sells counterfeit goods, etc. will be held responsible before the law, not just celebrities. Currently, Vietnam has Decree 38 of the Government in 2021 regulating administrative sanctions in the fields of culture and advertising, clearly stipulating violations and corresponding levels of sanctions.

Director Nguyen Xuan Bac said that artists and celebrities must comply with legal regulations like all other citizens and are not allowed to abuse their reputation. At the same time, they need to have a high level of awareness and responsibility in communication and advertising activities to avoid causing negative impacts on the public./.

Source: https://bvhttdl.gov.vn/cuc-phat-thanh-truyen-hinh-va-thong-tin-dien-tu-se-xu-phat-btv-quang-minh-va-mc-van-hugo-vi-quang-cao-sai-su-that-20250421184749423.htm