In that context, the Ministry of Public Security's drafting of a Decree on sanctioning administrative violations in the field of network security and personal data protection with heavier penalties than current regulations is necessary to maintain social discipline in the digital age.
Many penalties but distorted and fake news still recur
Reality over the past time shows that, despite having regulations on penalties, many people still underestimate the dissemination of false information on cyberspace. For example, the case that just took place in Thai Nguyen: On March 17, Thai Nguyen Provincial Police informed that functional forces had just handled a case of posting incorrect comments on the election process on social networks. The Facebook account named "D. T" commented on distorted content under the Phu Lac Commune Police's election propaganda post.
At the meeting with the police, D. V. T admitted to posting false comments, not having the information verified before writing. D. V. T then removed the comments and signed a commitment not to continue posting similar content causing misunderstanding about election work. Phu Lac Commune Police issued a decision to sanction administrative violations against D. V. T with a fine of 7.5 million VND.
Similarly, in Hanoi, right before the election day, the Internal Political Security Department, Hanoi City Police issued a decision to sanction administrative violations for a case of posting false information related to the election of National Assembly deputies of the 16th term and People's Council deputies at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.
The above are very typical cases of distorted and fake news still recurring. The common point of these cases is that the violations stem from subjectivity, lack of legal awareness, and even the mentality of "posting for fun". Fake news and untrue news not only distort information but can also harm social trust.
Meanwhile, according to current regulations such as Decree 15/2020/ND-CP, Decree 14/2022/ND-CP, Decree 211/2025/ND-CP..., the amount of 7.5 million VND for the above-mentioned violations is not enough to deter.
According to the Ministry of Public Security: "With the level of profits earned from cyberspace activities, if the maximum penalty is not applied to some cybersecurity violations, it will not be sufficiently deterrent, not commensurate with the damage caused, not suitable for the socio-economic situation, leading to a situation where although not common, many individuals and organizations currently have a common mentality of accepting to pay administrative fines is still more beneficial than having to comply with the provisions of law.
Increasing fines: Right and right
The Ministry of Public Security assessed: "In the current situation, with the speed of development and application of information technology in all fields of social life, personal data is becoming a basic and increasingly important source of raw materials, contributing to socio-economic development, ensuring national defense and security. Network security and personal data protection have become important fields of social life, it is necessary to have a system of complete and complete legal documents, especially regulations on administrative violation penalties".
According to the draft, the Ministry of Public Security proposes to impose administrative penalties in the field of network security and personal data protection with a maximum fine in the field of network security for individuals of 100 million VND, and for organizations of 200 million VND.
The maximum fine for the act of buying and selling personal data is 10 times the revenue obtained from the violation. The maximum fine for other violations in the field of personal data protection is 1.5 billion VND for individuals and 3 billion VND for organizations.
For acts of creating and disseminating information in cyberspace with false content, insulting, humiliating, slanderous, affecting the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals, not yet to the extent of criminal prosecution, according to Article 8 of the draft, a fine of 10-20 million VND is proposed to be applied to one of the following acts such as disseminating information with fabricated, false content, insulting the honor, prestige, and dignity of others; disseminating information affecting the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals; impersonating individuals and organizations affecting the prestige of organizations, honor, and dignity of individuals.
For the act of "Making information with fabricated, untrue content, insulting the honor, prestige, and dignity of others; making information affecting the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals", the fine is from 20-30 million VND.
Thus, compared to current regulations, this is a significantly increased fine. However, according to many lawyers, increasing the fine is not simply "attacking on the pocket", but more importantly, sending a clear message: Cyberspace is not a place to stand outside the law. Every statement, every status line must be held responsible as in real life.
In an era where everyone can become a "content producer", the boundary between information and fake news is increasingly fragile. If there are no regulations strong enough and clear enough, "information chaos" will become a chronic disease of the digital society. The draft of the Ministry of Public Security is therefore not only a legal document, but also a warning: It is time for everyone to be more serious and cautious with each statement on the internet.
Lawyer Hoang Van Ha, of ARC Hanoi Law Company Limited, said: Increasing penalties for the act of spreading false information in cyberspace is an inevitable and necessary trend, in order to ensure general deterrence and prevention, and at the same time protect a healthy and safe information environment.
Also according to lawyer Ha, besides increasing sanctions, it is necessary to improve legal regulations on information control on digital platforms; increase the responsibility of social network platforms; force violators to publicly correct, apologize, remedy consequences and promote propaganda to raise legal awareness for people.
