Creating and spreading fake news on social networks can be fined up to 20 million VND

(Dan Tri) - The Government has issued Decree 330/2026/ND-CP regulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of cybersecurity and personal data protection, officially taking effect from August 19.

According to Article 11 of the Decree, people who create and distribute false and unverified information that affects the legitimate rights and interests of organizations, individuals and the information environment in cyberspace can be fined 10-20 million VND.

Individuals who create or distribute fake news will be fined a maximum of 20 million VND (Photo: Forbes).

A fine of 10-20 million VND is applied to individuals who create or distribute false and unverified information that affects the legitimate rights and interests of organizations, individuals and the information environment in cyberspace.

This fine also applies to acts of creating or distributing information with content inconsistent with customs, traditions, social ethics or potentially causing negative impacts on the community; disseminating information with content that encourages or instructs to commit acts contrary to the provisions of law but not to the extent of criminal prosecution.

People who create or distribute information about methods, therapies, remedies, medical examination and treatment techniques that have not been authorized by competent authorities or have not been confirmed according to specialized regulations will also be subject to a fine of 10-20 million VND.

In case an organization commits the same violation, the fine level applied is twice that of an individual.

In addition to fines being the main form of sanction, violators may also be subject to additional sanctions such as confiscation of evidence and means used to commit administrative violations.

Remedial measures include forcing the removal or deletion of information in cyberspace that contains fabricated or untrue content, causing confusion among the people and affecting social order.

At the same time, mandatory remedial measures are also applied thoroughly, including forced removal and complete deletion of fabricated and false information in cyberspace.

The violator must also rectify this false information and be forced to return or repay the illegal profits obtained from their violation.

In addition, people who set up or manage electronic information pages, social networks or accounts, associations, groups, specialized pages on social networks, electronic forums to post and guide the above acts will also be fined 20-30 million VND.