Director Nguyen Xuan Bac: Anyone who advertises falsely must be held responsible before the law.

This information was given at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held on the afternoon of April 21.

Anyone who advertises falsely will be held legally responsible.

At the press conference, 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 in cyberspace and encouraged ministries and sectors to issue Codes of Conduct in their fields. This Code of Conduct is not a legal provision, is not mandatory and does not come with sanctions.

According to Mr. 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," Director Le Quang Tu Do informed.

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

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 the illegal advertisers. 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.

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 the law 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.

Quang Minh - Van Hugo will be fined for false milk advertising

According to the Department of Radio and Television, recently, the unit has coordinated to inspect, verify, and handle two cases: Editor 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.

After the working session on April 18, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information made a record of handling these two cases.

It is expected that BTV Quang Minh will be fined 37.5 million VND for 2 acts: "Advertising food and food additives that are not in accordance with one of the prescribed documents", as prescribed in Point a, Clause 2, Article 52, Decree 38 and "Advertising using images, equipment, costumes, names, correspondence of medical units, facilities, doctors, pharmacists, medical staff, thank-you letters, thanks from patients, articles of doctors, pharmacists, medical staff" as prescribed in Point a, Clause 4, Article 52, Decree 38.

MC Van Hugo is expected to be fined 70 million for the act of "Incorrect or misleading advertising about the business capacity, the ability to provide products, goods, and services of organizations and individuals trading in products, goods, and services; about the quantity, quality, price, uses, designs, packaging, brands, origins, types, service methods, warranty periods of products, goods, and services that have been registered or announced" according to the provisions of Article 52, Decree 38.

Minh Trang

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/cuc-truong-nguyen-xuan-bac-bat-ky-ai-quang-cao-sai-su-that-deu-phai-chiu-trach-nhiem-truoc-phap-luat-post546166.html