Tighten copyright infringement in the digital space
Official Dispatch No. 38/CD-TTg dated May 5, 2026 of the Prime Minister focuses on directing the drastic implementation of solutions to fight, prevent, and handle acts of intellectual property infringement, showing the level of drastic action in the fight against intellectual property infringement in the digital environment.
This move takes place in the context that the digital content market in Vietnam continues to face great pressure from illegal broadcast websites. In the field of sports, especially international football, illegal viewing has long become a difficult problem for copyright holders.
Previously, in early March, the Investigation Police Agency of Hung Yen Provincial Police prosecuted 30 defendants related to the illegal broadcasting of sports and film content on the Xoi Lac TV system.
According to initial investigation, the two ringleaders are P.N. D (47 years old) and N.C.D (33 years old). This group operates a website broadcasting copyright infringement content online, and inserts advertisements and links to online gambling platforms to profit.
Functional agencies believe that this is an organized line operating, disguised as a technology company to cover up violations. In addition to infringing on the rights of copyright holders, this system also poses a risk of spreading malware, stealing personal information and attracting users to participate in online gambling.
World Cup 2026 and pressure to change illegal viewing habits
In June, the 2026 World Cup will officially take place. In Vietnam, VTV is the unit that owns the broadcasting rights of the tournament, and is also the focal point for licensing public screenings for business locations such as cafes, restaurants, cinemas or shopping centers.
Of course, the broadcaster must face pressure to protect content from copyright infringement acts, which directly affect advertising revenue, media and the entire service ecosystem surrounding the tournament.
At the seminar "FIFA World Cup Copyright 2026: Responsibility for Watching Correctly, Watching Cleanly" held at the end of April in Ho Chi Minh City, Dr. Duong Duc Minh - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Economic and Tourism Development Research said that buying copyright creates spillover value for the entire sports economic ecosystem.
When viewers choose a legal source, cash flow does not stop at a match. It returns to nurturing television technology, content production, transmission infrastructure, services, tourism, commerce, media and many related industries," said Dr. Duong Duc Minh.
From the perspective of a football professional, commentator Quang Tung believes that the 2026 World Cup will continue to be the peak period of the fight against copyright infringement.
This issue has been talked about a lot and perhaps we still have to talk for a long time. In 2026, functional agencies have intervened and made efforts to prevent illegal websites from rampantly affecting the interests of broadcasters and units holding high-value sports copyrights.
I think that this problem will continue to be raised at the 2026 World Cup. We need high determination, specific and accurate actions, and how to minimize this phenomenon to the lowest level, optimizing the interests of broadcasters and copyright holders.
It may not be 100% eliminated, but with the efforts of functional agencies and the momentum we have had in the past period in preventing illegal websites from exploiting the copyright of the English Premier League and other events,... the 2026 World Cup will still be further promoted," commentator Quang Tung said.
Mr. Tung added: "I expect the World Cup in Vietnam to be not only good in terms of content, but also organized in the most proper way. That is also a way for us to arrange and reorganize the lifestyle of cultural appreciation, enjoying copyrighted events, showing the standards of a civilized society. Hopefully, that can be done methodically".
According to statistics from Similarweb, in Vietnam, the 2022-2023 football season recorded about 70 illegal website groups with many different website addresses. The websites of these groups reached 7.7 million users, 1.5 billion views.
In the period from August 2022 to August 2023, Vietnamese authorities blocked nearly 1,000 illegal football websites.
In 2024, the Creative and Entertainment Alliance (ACE), the world's leading organization in combating copyright infringement, announced that it had successfully dismantled a large-scale live sports copyright infringement broadcast line based in Vietnam.
