Tightly manage digital platforms, increase investment in revolutionary journalism

This afternoon, October 23, continuing the 10th Session, the National Assembly discussed in Groups: the draft Law on Disease Prevention, the draft Law on Press (amended) and the draft Law on Population. National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man participated in the discussion in Group 11, including the National Assembly Delegation of Can Tho City and the National Assembly Delegation of Dien Bien Province.

Báo Đại biểu Nhân dân•23/10/2025

Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dien Bien province Lo Thi Luyen speaks

Clarify the management mechanism of press activities in cyberspace

Regarding the draft Law on Press (amended), the National Assembly Deputies discussing in Group 11 all highly agreed on amending the current Law, continuing to affirm the role of Vietnam's revolutionary press - a press closely associated with the revolutionary cause and national development; at the same time, meeting practical requirements in the context of digital transformation and the strong development of multimedia journalism and journalism in cyberspace.

Emphasizing the role of the press in leading and orienting public opinion, Venerable Thich Duc Thien, National Assembly delegate of Dien Bien province, also suggested that it is necessary to clarify the management mechanism of press activities in cyberspace.

In addition, delegates pointed out that in reality, many platforms such as TikTok, Facebook... still have a large amount of fake news, bad news, causing negative impacts on society despite commitments to manage content. Therefore, there needs to be specific, strict regulations and strict sanctions for digital platforms when operating in Vietnam.

Venerable Thich Duc Thien, National Assembly Delegate of Dien Bien province, speaks

Regarding types of press, delegate Thich Duc Thien agreed with the opinions of the delegates on the need to clearly define concepts, avoid overlap between print, radio, television and electronic newspapers; and at the same time, must be consistent with relevant legal documents.

Regarding the prohibited acts in Article 9, delegate Thich Duc Thien agreed with the provisions inherited from the current law, and emphasized the prohibition of acts that cause division in the great national unity bloc, religious division and insulting religious beliefs and faiths. The delegate stated that revolutionary press needs to spread knowledge, correct beliefs and good moral and cultural values, contributing to strengthening the great national unity bloc.

Regarding press economics , delegate Thich Duc Thien said that this is an issue that needs utmost attention in the context of declining revenue sources of press agencies and increasingly fierce competition.

Emphasizing the extremely important role of revolutionary journalism, delegate Thich Duc Thien suggested that the State needs to increase investment in key press agencies to ensure their role in guiding public opinion, communicating policies and maintaining the principles and goals of revolutionary journalism.

Clearly define the rights and obligations of journalists

Clause 4, Article 19 of the draft Law stipulates: in case a press agency needs to change the content recorded in the press operation license, except for the case specified in Clause 3 of this Article, the press management agency and the press agency must have a request file and be approved by the state press management agency.

According to National Assembly Delegate Pham Thi Minh Hue ( Can Tho ), the above provision can be understood as in case there is a need to change the content recorded in the press operation license, except for the content in Clause 3, Article 19 of the draft Law, the press agency can make a request file, without going through the competent authority.

National Assembly Delegate Pham Thi Minh Hue (Can Tho) speaks

Delegates noted that in cases where the content that needs to be changed is important, such as the principles and purposes of operations, without approval from the press management agency, it will cause inconvenience and conflict with the provisions on the authority of the management agency in Articles 15 and 16 of the draft Law.

Therefore, delegate Pham Thi Minh Hue proposed to consider the subject requesting to change the content of the press activity license or when developing regulations on records and procedures for requesting to grant a press activity license, amend or supplement a press activity license, to consider and provide specific guidance in the direction that in case a press agency requests to change the content of the press activity license, it is necessary to have the opinion of the competent authority to avoid conflicts, ensure consistency with regulations on the duties and powers of the press competent authority and avoid problems arising in practical application.

National Assembly Delegate Truong Thi Ngoc Anh (Can Tho) speaks

Article 28 of the draft Law stipulates the rights and obligations of journalists. Expressing agreement with the provisions in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, National Assembly member Truong Thi Ngoc Anh (Can Tho) also proposed to separate Clause 3 into two separate parts - "things that journalists must do" and "things that journalists must not do" to ensure transparency and ease of application. For example, "things that must be done" are: corrections, apologies in cases of inaccurate and unverified information; and "things that must not be done" are: abusing the name to harass, committing violations, distorting information, slandering, insulting the reputation and honor of organizations and individuals...

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/quan-ly-chat-nen-tang-so-tang-dau-tu-cho-bao-chi-cach-mang-10392625.html