Sharing the link to the article does not mean copying the work
After Decree 174/2026/ND-CP was issued, many discussions related to sharing news on social networks appeared on online forums and groups.
Many users said they are concerned that sharing articles from official press agencies on social media platforms may be penalized when this decree takes effect from July 1, 2026.
I regularly share articles about life, law or fraud warnings from the press for relatives to read together. In recent days, seeing a lot of information saying that sharing articles can be fined, I am quite worried," Mr. Nguyen Van Thanh (Hanoi) shared.
Meanwhile, Ms. Hoang Thu Trang (Bac Ninh) said that what makes many people wonder is the boundary between information sharing and press copyright infringement.
Many people just click the button to share the link to the article, but there are also people who copy the entire content or take screenshots of the article to post it again. I don't know what current law stipulates for each case," Ms. Trang said.
Talking to reporters, Lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam - Chinh Phap Law Office said that it is necessary to correctly understand the scope of regulation of Point d, Clause 1, Article 95 of Decree 174/2026/ND-CP.
According to this regulation, the act of taking advantage of social networks to "provide and share journalistic, literary, artistic, and publishing works without the consent of the intellectual property rights holder or without being allowed to circulate or having a decision to ban circulation or confiscate" may be fined from 20 to 30 million VND for organizations.
According to lawyer Lam, if only sharing the link of a legally published article from a mainstream press agency, not copying the content of the article, not reposting the work in another form and not having copyright or related rights infringement, there is a basis to believe that this act is not subject to penalties under Point d, Clause 1, Article 95.
Agreeing with this view, Lawyer Do Xuan Thuan - Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association said that this regulation needs to be considered in relation to the Law on Intellectual Property, the Press Law as well as the practical operation of the Internet.
In essence, sharing a link is just leading readers to the source of information of the press agency. The person sharing does not copy or republish the content of the work and does not generate illegal exploitation of property rights for journalistic works," lawyer Thuan analyzed.
According to Mr. Thuan, for ordinary people who only share links to articles from official sources for reference and information exchange, this should not be understood as a violation.
Regulations aimed at the act of copying and exploiting illegal press content
According to Lawyer Do Xuan Thuan, the main objective of the regulation is to prevent acts of illegal use of press content on the online environment, especially cases of copying, reposting or exploiting content to attract viewers, create interaction, serve business activities or create direct or indirect revenue.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Tran Thi Thanh Lam said that acts of copying verbatim articles, taking screenshots of the entire content of articles and then reposting them on Facebook, TikTok, Zalo or compiling press content to post on personal pages, fan pages, content channels to attract views, earn advertising or increase interaction without the consent of the intellectual property rights owner are acts that are at risk of falling within the scope of regulation of this regulation.
According to lawyers, copying or re-exploiting journalistic works without permission not only risks infringing intellectual property rights but also directly affects the legitimate rights and interests as well as the revenue of press agencies.
In addition, lawyers also noted that it is necessary to distinguish between sharing links and content that users self-add when sharing.
If users intentionally put sensational headlines, distort content, distort the nature of events or make false comments that make readers misunderstand the information, then the violation lies in the added content, not in sharing links.
Similarly, sharing links from fake websites of press agencies or non-official information sources may still be considered for responsibility if the content contains false information, fake information or belongs to the prohibited information group.
According to lawyers, the important thing is not only what link users share, but also from which source they share, for what purpose and whether it changes or distorts the original information content or not.
