Social network reviewcongty accused of posting false information about businesses

Reviewcongty social network is not licensed in Vietnam.

The Vietnam Digital Content Creation Alliance (DCCA) has just sent a document to the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information (Ministry of Information and Communications) and the Vietnam Digital Communications Association, requesting intervention to handle the social network reviewcongty, because it has posted a lot of false information about its member companies.

According to the DCCA's official dispatch, recently, a number of DCCA member and partner businesses have reported that the social networking site https://reviewcongty.xxx allows users to share a lot of false information, insulting the reputation, honor, and dignity of many businesses and their leaders and managers.

Specifically, the website reviewcongty.xxx is operating in the form of a social network, registering a domain name and placing a server through a foreign registrar, but operating towards Vietnamese users and using the entire language of Vietnamese. This website allows users to create accounts with the names of businesses and members can write articles, comments, and express personal opinions without any censorship. The accounts are all posted anonymously, without registration, without verification, they can still write reviews and comments about any business or individual. A person can use an unlimited number of anonymous accounts to write and comment. The content is mostly negative, insulting individuals, posting false information about businesses, violating Vietnamese customs and cultural ethics.

Through the review, DCCA found that the above website has some signs of violating the law, specifically violating regulations on management, provision and use of Internet services and online information according to Decree 72/2013/ND-CP and Decree 15/2020/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions in the fields of post, telecommunications, radio frequencies, information technology and electronic transactions.

All accounts post anonymously, no registration required, no verification required, you can still write reviews and comments about any business or individual.

In addition, DCCA found that the above website violated regulations on applying for a license to establish a social network. At the same time, this website seriously infringed on the reputation, honor, and brand of thousands of Vietnamese businesses when posting negative information as above.

The behavior of the subject (individual, group of people or organization) that created this website violated the provisions of Article 102, Clause 3, Point e of Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP dated February 3, 2020, stipulating administrative sanctions in the fields of post, telecommunications, radio frequencies, information technology and electronic transactions, with the behavior: "Collecting, processing and using information of other organizations and individuals without consent or for purposes other than those prescribed by law".

At the same time, the above acts also show signs of violating the provisions of Clauses 3 and 4, Article 34 of the 2015 Civil Code, effective from January 1, 2017, which stipulates: “ Information that negatively affects the honor, dignity, and reputation of an individual and is posted on any mass media must be removed or corrected by that same mass media. If this information is kept by an agency, organization, or individual, it must be destroyed .”

DCCA believes that this website is seriously violating Vietnamese law. This has caused, is causing and will cause damage to the reputation, honor and property of Vietnamese enterprises in general and DCCA members in particular. The damages include loss of brand reputation, loss of business opportunities as well as other costs that enterprises must bear to prevent and remedy the damage, seriously affecting the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises.

Responding to VietNamNet about this content, a representative of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information said that this is an unlicensed social network in Vietnam. Currently, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information is coordinating with functional units to review and handle the feedback from DCCA.

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