On December 11, continuing the 40th session, the National Assembly Standing Committee considered adding a number of draft laws to the 2025 Law and Ordinance Development Program, including the Press Law (amended).
According to the Government's proposal presented by Deputy Minister of Justice Tran Tien Dung, in order to institutionalize the Party's policies and guidelines on the press, especially the orientation content at the 13th National Party Congress: "Building a professional, humane and modern press and media" and the provisions of the 2013 Constitution, the Government proposed to develop the Press Law (amended) with 4 policies.
Policy 1: Strengthening management of press activities. Accordingly, amending and supplementing regulations on the concepts of newspapers and magazines; conditions for granting press licenses; revoking press agency licenses; state management of local press; regulations for scientific magazines to be of the right nature; on representative offices and resident reporters; supplementing regulations on depositing copies of newsletters and special issues.
Policy 2: Improve the quality of journalists and leaders of press agencies. Accordingly, amend and supplement regulations on: duties and powers of the Vietnam Journalists Association; standards, conditions for appointment, duties and powers of deputy heads of press agencies; requirements for training in journalism skills and professional ethics for journalists before the first issuance of press cards; regulations on issuance, re-issuance, and revocation of press cards.
Policy 3: Promote the development of the press economy. Amend and supplement regulations on: Developing the Press and Media Complex model; Linking in press activities; State policies on press development; Importing printed newspapers, printed magazines and exporting the content of spoken and visual newspapers...
Policy 4: Regulating press activities in cyberspace. Accordingly, amend and supplement regulations on: Press agencies' activities in cyberspace; digital tools to monitor press activities in cyberspace of state management agencies; regulations on management mechanisms for activities that affect press activities.
Examining the draft law, Chairman of the Law Committee Hoang Thanh Tung said that the Law Committee, the Standing Committee of the Culture and Education Committee and the Standing Committee of the National Defense and Security Committee basically agreed with the content of the above four policies.
Strengthening management of press activities; Improving the quality of journalists and press agency leaders; Promoting press economy; Regulating press activities in cyberspace.
In addition, it is recommended to study and clarify the following contents: the relationship between the regulations on "scientific journals" and the regulations on "printed journals" and "electronic journals" in policy 1; the form of "violation handling" for members who violate the professional ethics of the Vietnam Journalists Association and the obligation to join the Vietnam Journalists Association for "journalists" in policy 2.
In addition, clarify the model of press and media association to ensure compliance with the law on enterprises and public service units in policy 3; the form and conditions of press operations in cyberspace; and the management policy for "general electronic information pages" in policy 4.
