The Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (“MCST“) has just issued Official Letter No. 923/QD-BVHTTDL for the inception of a working group regulating film dissemination in cyberspace (“Working Group“) given the rampant dissemination of toxic videos and illegal films on digital platforms.
The Working Group consists of 10 members led by the Director of the Cinema Department and some other deputies in the Cinema Department.
The Working Group’s main mission is to enforce the Cinema Law and its guiding Decree 131, namely:
- Assessing the service providers’ eligibility for self-classifying films disseminated in cyberspace;
- Granting and revoking film classification permits;
- Requesting cyberspace film disseminators to remove infringing films;
- Requesting digital media platform operators to prevent and remove infringing films;
- Requesting telecommunications network providers to implement necessary technical measures to prevent access to infringing films; and
- Conducting post-check activities on films rating and film content.
It appears that the Working Group will be the main regulator enforcing the Cinema Law and Decree 131 concerning online film dissemination.
Online film disseminators will need to work directly with this regulator concerning the self-classification of films. We also expect more enforcement actions to be taken by the group in the coming months.
