Nghị định 367/2026: Vietnam's New Press Fines Reach Domains, Online Channels and OTT Apps

Vietnam’s new Press Law has been in force since 1 July 2026. Until this weekend it had no penalty regime of its own. On 25 September 2026 Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà signed Nghị định 367/2026/NĐ-CP, on the proposal of the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The decree sets administrative penalties for violations in the press field and took effect the next day, 26 September 2026. It has 4 chapters and 41 articles and is built on Luật Báo chí số 126/2025/QH15 and the Law on Handling Administrative Violations.

Most headlines have focused on the new top fine and the penalties for threatening reporters. For anyone who runs a website, an app or a content channel, the more important part is how much of the decree targets the digital side of the press: domain names, newsroom channels on social platforms, electronic legal deposit, and paid streaming services.

What it replaces

Until now, press violations were fined under Nghị định 119/2020/NĐ-CP (as amended by Nghị định 14/2022/NĐ-CP), a combined decree for press, publishing and printing. Điều 39 of the new decree repeals the press parts of that decree: its general provisions (Chương I), its press violations in Chương II except Điều 20, and the related split of sanctioning powers in Điều 40a. The publishing and printing rules in 119/2020 stay in force. So Vietnam now has a stand-alone press-penalty decree matched to the 2025 Press Law.

The most visible change is the ceiling. Under 119/2020 the maximum fine per violation was 200 million đồng for organisations and 100 million đồng for individuals. Under Nghị định 367/2026 it is 500 million đồng for organisations and 250 million đồng for individuals. The fines in Chương II are stated for organisations, except Điều 12, which is stated for individuals, and an individual pays half the organisation’s rate for the same act. The limitation period is 2 years (Điều 4).

The digital provisions

Unlicensed online outlets and domain names. Running electronic press without a press licence costs 300–400 million đồng (Điều 11 k5). Opening a chuyên trang, a sub-site of an electronic newspaper, without permission costs 60–100 million đồng (Điều 11 k4). Both carry a remedial order to revoke the domain name. Điều 8 also lets officials temporarily seize “.vn” domains and international domains assigned to Vietnamese organisations and individuals while a case is handled. The Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC, under the Ministry of Science and Technology), domain registrars and the operators of new gTLDs in Vietnam are required to cooperate.

Takedowns. Nearly every content violation in Điều 14 comes with an order to remove the offending item from electronic press, radio or television. A newsroom that does not immediately remove violating content when the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism asks faces 10–20 million đồng (Điều 16 k4 c). The request can cover content on its electronic newspaper, on its channels on social platforms, or on the national digital press platform. For paid radio and TV services, including Internet-delivered ones, failing to block or remove unlawful content within 24 hours of an official request costs 30–50 million đồng (Điều 23 k3 n).

Newsroom channels on social platforms. The decree now treats a press agency’s channels on cyberspace as part of its regulated output:

Failing to notify the press regulator when opening such a channel costs 5–10 million đồng (Điều 26 k2 d).
A co-produced channel that does not clearly show the press agency’s name and logo and details of the co-production contract costs 10–20 million đồng (Điều 25 k1).
Co-producing sub-sites or content channels on digital platforms outside the permitted fields costs 20–30 million đồng (Điều 25 k2 a).
Corrections must also identify the date an item was published on the newsroom’s online channel (Điều 16 k2 b).

Archiving and electronic legal deposit. An electronic newspaper that fails to keep a complete, unaltered copy of what it published for the required period, fails to give the deposit authority data access, or supplies a version that differs from what was published faces 5–10 million đồng (Điều 20 k3). Deposited copies without a clear digital signature of the head of the press agency cost 3–5 million đồng (Điều 20 k2). Not keeping content on the server for inspection is a separate violation (Điều 16 k3 b). So is not having a dedicated corrections section on the homepage of an online newspaper or magazine (Điều 16 k3 đ).

Pay-TV and OTT services. Điều 23 reads like a compliance checklist for streaming platforms. Each item below costs 30–50 million đồng:

pre-installing an app on users’ devices, or arranging access to radio or TV services outside the rules;
offering on-demand, value-added or advertising content that has not been edited or translated as required;
offering comments or interaction on sports, entertainment or film content without adequate moderation;
failing to keep pay-TV content separate from other integrated services.

Offering pay-TV without a licence rises to 150–200 million đồng, and the remedies include removing the Internet radio or TV app itself.

Content violations and headlines

Điều 14 grades false information by impact: 10–20 million đồng if the impact is “less serious”, 60–80 million if serious, and 80–100 million if very serious. Illustrations or headlines that do not match the story and mislead readers cost 10–20 million đồng. That clause is aimed squarely at clickbait. Disclosing someone’s private life without consent costs 20–40 million. Promoting or linking to websites with unlawful content costs 40–60 million. The top band, 400–500 million đồng, covers content affecting national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and content prohibited by Điều 8 of the Press Law. The most serious content violations can also bring suspension of the press licence for 1–5 or 6–10 months.

For journalists, the decree protects as well as punishes. Obstructing reporters costs 20–30 million đồng, seizing their equipment 30–50 million, insulting them or damaging their equipment 50–70 million, and threatening their lives 70–100 million (Điều 13). Impersonating a journalist costs 20–30 million đồng, and using press status for personal gain costs 30–50 million (Điều 12).

Who is affected

Press agencies with electronic editions, their representative offices, and their social-media teams.
Pay-TV and OTT operators, including their app distribution, content moderation and takedown workflows.
Content partners that co-produce channels or sub-sites with newsrooms.
Domain registrars and VNNIC, which must carry out domain holds and revocations.
Individuals, for impersonating journalists or obstructing and threatening them.

Open questions

Scope beyond the press. Điều 1 k2 sends press-related violations not covered here to the penalty decrees of other sectors. Ordinary websites, influencers and social-media accounts that are not press agencies therefore stay mostly under other instruments. The line between “press activity” and general online content will be tested in practice.
What counts as “serious”. The three tiers of false information depend on impact, but the decree gives no numeric test for “less serious”, “serious” and “very serious”.
The leftover Điều 20. One article of Chương II of 119/2020 survives the repeal. Newsrooms will need to check which old obligation still applies alongside the new decree.
Day-after effect. The decree took effect one day after signing, with no lead time for newsrooms to update their processes. Its transition rule (Điều 40) applies the new decree to violations that started earlier but are still continuing. An old article left online without a required correction could therefore be judged under the higher 2026 fines.

Sources

This post is general information, not legal advice.