The Kera vegetable candy case has caused a stir in public opinion recently when the defendants are famous people on social networks, including Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien.
At the investigation agency, Thuy Tien admitted that she had great responsibility because she was a celebrity. "People will buy this product a lot for me," Thuy Tien confessed.
Sharing with Lao Dong reporter, communication expert Nguyen Ngoc Long also affirmed that when advertising a product, KOLs or celebrities are actually using their own reputation and career to convey information to consumers.
"Celebrities need to understand that the money you earn from taking photos, videos, posting, livestreaming... is not paid for the time they spend but for the reputation they have.
When accepting advertisements, they need to understand that they are using their reputation to get money, so they can completely lose everything when risks occur," said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Long.
Experts say that both Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, Quang Linh Vlogs and Hang Du Muc have had their careers and images collapse over time.
Because, as Thuy Tien self-assessed, they take advantage of public trust for personal gain.
"The incident caused widespread outrage because Thuy Tien, Quang Linh, and Hang Duoc are all famous people, and the number of followers they have combined can be up to tens of millions. When a scandal occurs, the resonance is huge, making them the focus even though untrue advertising incidents have happened a lot before," the analyst analyzed.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Long assessed that the noisy incidents of celebrities create huge consequences, when they are the team that creates content and shares a lot of information on social networks.
"In life, anything that is present a lot will become normal. That is very dangerous. The first time you hear "dirty" content, you feel indignant, but the anger will decrease" - Mr. Long said.
MSc. Le Dinh Quyet - lecturer at Hanoi Law University, senior consultant at LVI Law Firm - informed that those who carry out false advertising can be fined from 60 - 80 million VND (according to Decree No. 38/2021, amended and supplemented by Decree No. 129/2021 and Decree No. 128/2022 of the Government). In case there are sufficient factors to constitute a crime, criminal liability may be prosecuted.
In Thuy Tien's case, the crime of defrauding customers is stipulated in Article 198 of the 2015 Penal Code and was amended and supplemented in 2017 (Criminal Code).
Based on the nature and level of danger to society of the behavior, the crime of deceiving customers is a serious crime. Depending on the nature of the behavior and the amount of illegal profits, the offender may be subject to a warning, a fine of 10 - 500 million VND, non-custodial reform or a prison sentence of 1 - 5 years.
Mr. Le Dinh Quyet said that false advertising behavior not only violates advertising laws but also directly affects consumers' health, especially when the product does not meet the quality commitment.
That not only reduces consumer confidence in products and services but can also cause serious legal consequences, with administrative and criminal penalties for individuals and organizations that violate.
