The draft Law on Advertising is being revised and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly for its first comments at the 8th session next month, submitted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, with a very notable content that has attracted public attention.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism proposed regulations that celebrities and influencers must directly use the products when posting opinions and feelings about the results of using cosmetics, health protection foods, and dietary supplements on social networks.
This is a positive step towards restoring order in the advertising industry. This proposal not only helps protect consumer rights but also aims to build a more transparent and fair advertising environment.
Celebrities and social media influencers promoting products has become an indispensable part of many businesses' marketing strategies.
However, the reality is that celebrities take advantage of their names and "turn" themselves into patients, advertise "falsely" and "exaggerately", causing products to be over-exaggerated in terms of uses and features, not only causing consumers to "lose money and suffer" but also affecting general trust in advertising activities.
While this suggestion is great, in reality, determining whether a celebrity has actually used a product is not a simple matter.
It is impossible to rely on the self-awareness and self-respect of celebrities. And it is also not easy for the management agency to check and confirm that artist A or B has used the product before advertising.
Therefore, along with regulations, authorities must also provide sanctions and monitoring mechanisms.
As Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said at the 37th session, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly commented that the draft law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Advertising Law "not only regulates the responsibility of the person transmitting advertising products but also clearly stipulates the responsibility of state management agencies, avoiding the situation where agencies blame each other".
Even the investigating agency, the National Assembly's Committee on Culture and Education, proposed to study and supplement the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Security in handling violations in advertising activities related to network security and social order and security.
If the monitoring mechanism is unclear, especially valid evidence showing that artists or influencers have used the product before advertising, and the sanctions are not detailed and lack deterrence, then the requirement that celebrities must directly use cosmetics and dietary supplements before advertising will become a "fun request" without practical value!
