Providing or disseminating false information that causes public panic, results in damage to socio-economic activities, or obstructs the operations of state authorities or persons performing official duties shall be subject to a fine ranging from VND 30 million to VND 50 million.

The Government has recently issued Decree No. 174/2026/ND-CP on administrative sanctions for violations in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions, and information technology. The Decree takes effect on 1 July 2026 and stipulates that entities subject to administrative sanctions include organizations, business households, Vietnamese individuals, and foreign organizations and individuals committing administrative violations.

I. Legal basis

• Decree No. 174/2026/ND-CP
• Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP
• Decree No. 14/2022/ND-CP
• Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP

II. Sharing false information that causes public confusion may result in fines ranging from VND 30 million to VND 50 million

With respect to violations of regulations on responsibilities in the use of social networking services, the Decree prescribes fines ranging from VND 30 million to VND 50 million for any of the following acts:

• Providing or sharing information that distorts historical facts, denies revolutionary achievements, undermines the great national unity bloc, insults religion, or constitutes gender discrimination or racial discrimination, where such conduct has not reached the threshold for criminal prosecution.
• Disclosing information classified as state secrets, personal privacy, or other confidential information, where such conduct has not reached the threshold for criminal prosecution.
• Providing or sharing false information that causes public alarm, causes damage to socio-economic activities, obstructs the operations of state agencies or persons performing official duties, or infringes upon the lawful rights and interests of other agencies, organizations, or individuals, where such conduct has not reached the threshold for criminal prosecution.

Regarding remedial measures, the Decree provides as follows: Compulsory removal of false or misleading information, or information that violates the law, resulting from the commission of the violating act. Compulsory suspension of the offending account, community page, community group, or content channel used in the commission of the violating act.

III. Violations of obligations in the use of social networking services

The Decree imposes a monetary fine ranging from VND 20 million to VND 30 million for using social media to commit any of the following acts:

• Providing or sharing fabricated, false, distorted, or defamatory information, or information that undermines the reputation of agencies or organizations, or the honor and dignity of individuals.
• Providing or sharing information that promotes social vices, prostitution, or human trafficking; posting obscene or pornographic content; or information that undermines the nation’s fine customs and traditions, social morality, or public health, where such conduct has not yet reached the threshold for criminal prosecution.
• Providing or sharing information that provides detailed descriptions of acts of killing, dismemberment, accidents, or other horrifying and gruesome acts or incidents.
• Providing or sharing journalistic works, literary works, artistic works, or publications without the consent of the intellectual property right holder, or where such works or publications have not been authorized for circulation, or have been prohibited from circulation or ordered confiscated.
• Advertising, promoting, or sharing information relating to prohibited goods or services.
• Providing or sharing images of the map of Vietnam that fail to depict, or inaccurately depict, the national sovereignty of Vietnam.
• Providing or sharing links to online information containing prohibited content.
• Using social media to produce content in the form of news reports, investigative reports, or journalistic interviews.
• Failure by press agencies to provide notification, in accordance with regulations, upon establishing accounts, community pages, content channels, or community groups on domestic or foreign social media platforms.
• Failure by the account owner, content channel owner, community page owner, or community group administrator on a social media platform to prevent or remove unlawful information, information affecting the lawful rights and interests of other organizations or individuals, or information affecting children that is posted on their account, community page, community group, or content channel, upon the request of a competent authority.

IV. Subjects subject to administrative sanctions

Vietnamese organizations, household businesses, and individuals, as well as foreign organizations and individuals (hereinafter collectively referred to as “organizations and individuals”) that commit administrative violations as prescribed in this Decree.

Organizations subject to administrative penalties under this Decree include:

• Enterprises, enterprise branches, and affiliated units of enterprises operating in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions, and information technology;
• Organizations acting as agents for the provision of postal, telecommunications, Internet, and online game services;
• Representative offices and representatives of foreign postal service providers; and branches of postal service providers as prescribed in Clause 4, Article 3 of Government Decree No. 118/2021/ND-CP dated 23 December 2021 detailing a number of articles of, and measures for the implementation of, the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations;
• Organizations operating public telecommunications service establishments, public online game service establishments, or public Internet access points;
• Enterprises and organizations providing mobile telecommunications network content services;
• Entities operating in the fields of radio broadcasting, broadcasting, and television; public service units, social organizations, and socio-professional organizations using radio frequencies;
• Foreign non-governmental organizations using radio frequencies;
• Domain name registrars and organizations administering new generic Top-Level Domains (new gTLDs) in Viet Nam;
• Information system operating entities;
• State agencies committing administrative violations where such violations fall outside the scope of their assigned state management functions and duties;
• Agencies and organizations creating electronic signatures; organizations providing foreign electronic signature certification services; and organizations recognizing foreign electronic signatures and foreign electronic signature certificates;
• Other organizations that are not state agencies and commit administrative violations in the sectors specified in Clause 1, Article 1 of this Decree;
• Enterprises engaged in the trading of civil cryptographic products and services, and the export and import of civil cryptographic products.

V. About Us, Hankuk Law Firm

■ Hankuk Law Firm – Introduction

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