Under Decree 15/2020, the artists and KOLs who commit deviant behavior on social networks are subject to administrative fines between VND5 million and VND10 million.

According to a representative of a media company in HCM City, the fine is not high enough for artists and KOLs who have high incomes. To hire artists to post a piece of news about an event on their Facebook, program organizers have to spend VND25 million or more. Celebrities may require fees of up to VND50-60 million. 

The price levels are different depending on the artists’ popularity. And if program organizers want a KOL to run a long-term advertisement campaign on social media, they may pay hundreds of millions or billions of dong.

The representative said the fine of VND7.5 million is not enough to deter violators.

Le Bros President Le Quoc Vinh commented that fines are insignificant to those who carry out deliberate gaslighting and profiteering from fake news and disinformation. The low fines do not prevent people from spreading fake news, but on the contrary, encourage them to continue this illegal behavior. 

The current fines are significant to those who lack influence on social networks and who don’t intentionally make money from fake news, but they are insignificant to influencers, KOLs, or people who attract high numbers of followers thanks to fake news.

Vinh believes that the fines need to be based on the consequences caused by spreading fake news. With current advanced technologies, determining the influence caused by fake news won’t be difficult.

Asked how heavy the administrative fines on KOLs and celebrities who spread fake news and disinformation should be, Nguyen Duy Vy, the founder of Buzi, which operates in the field of Digital Marketing, said criminalization won’t be a feasible measure. 

He thinks that it would be better to ban artists and KOLs from broadcasting for a certain period or forever. The violators won’t be able to appear on TV or any broadcasting platform. The measure is being applied effectively in China.

Le My