What is the penalty of the act of spreading the clip of the 10th grade male student jumping from the floor in Hanoi, causing a stir in public opinion?

Main Content

• Is the act of spreading the clip causing a stir in public opinion unlawful?
• What is the penalty for the spread of the clip of a 10th grade male student jumping from the floor?
• What is the criminal responsibility for spreading the clip of the 10th grade boy jumping from the floor? What is the maximum penalty?

Is the act of spreading the clip causing a stir in public opinion unlawful?

The act of individuals who arbitrarily post pictures of others on social networks is a violation of the law and infringes on the privacy of others. Pursuant to Clauses 1 and 2, Article 38 of the Civil Code 2015 of Vietnam:

“Article 38. Right to private life, personal secrets and family secrets

1. The private life, personal secrets and family secrets of a person are inviolable and protected by law.

2. The collection, preservation, use and publication of information about the private life of an individual must have the consent of that person; the collection, preservation, use and publication of information about the secrets of family must have the consent of all family’s members, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

…”

Thus, arbitrarily disclosing information related to classified information without the consent of family members is a violation of the law.

What is the penalty of the act of spreading the clip of the 10th grade male student jumping from the floor in Hanoi, causing a stir in public opinion?

What is the penalty for the spread of the clip of a 10th grade male student jumping from the floor?

According to the law, the spread of the clip of the 10th grade boy jumping from the floor is a violation of the right to private life, personal secrets, and family secrets.

Pursuant to point e, point g and point m Clause 3 Article 102 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP of Vietnam on retention, leasing, transmission, provision, access, collection, processing, exchange and utilization of information. According to that, a fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for the commission of one of the following violations:

- Collecting, processing and using information of other organizations/individuals without their consent or for serving purposes other the prescribed ones;

- Providing, exchanging, transmitting or storing and using digital information in order to threaten, disturb, distort, slander or damage the prestige, honor and dignity of other organizations or individuals;

- Disclosing information classified as state secrets, personal and family secrets if not liable to criminal prosecution.

Therefore, based on the above regulations, the person who spreads the clip without the individual's consent and the disclosure of personal and family secret information but is not to the extent of criminal liability is be fined with a maximum penalty of up to VND 20,000,000.

Along with that, in the provisions at point b, clause 8, Article 102 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP of Vietnam, the violator shall also be subject to the additional penalties of confiscation of material evidences and means of administrative violations for this violation.

However, based on Clause 3, Article 4 of this Decree stipulating fines and power to impose fines, the fines are imposed for administrative violations committed by organizations. The fine imposed on an individual shall be half the one imposed on an organization for committing the same violation.

Besides, based on point c clause 1 Article 101 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP of Vietnam on Violations against regulations on responsibility of social networking service users, a fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for the act of providing/sharing information describing in detail acts of cutting off/killing, accidents, horror and frightful acts. Along with that, according to the provisions of Clause 3 of this Article, the person committing the violation is enforced removal of false, misleading or violating information in case of commission of any of the violations.

What is the criminal responsibility for spreading the clip of the 10th grade boy jumping from the floor? What is the maximum penalty?

The act of spreading clips, depending on the nature and severity of the case, can handle the criminal responsibility for the violator. Pursuant to Article 288 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam stipulating:

“Article 288. Illegal provision or use of information on computer networks or telecommunications networks

1. A person who commits any of the following acts and earns an illegal profit of from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000 or causes property damage assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 or damages reputation of an organization or individual shall be liable to a fine of from VND 30,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 03 - 36 months' imprisonment:

a) Uploading information on a computer or telecommunications network against regulations of law, except in the circumstances specified in Article 117, 155, 156 and 326 hereof;

b) Trading, exchanging, giving, changing or publishing lawfully private information of an organization or individual on the computer or telecommunications network without the consent of the information owner;

c) Other acts that involve illegal use of information on the computer or telecommunications network.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 200,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offender misuses his/her position as the administrator of the computer or telecommunications network;

c) The illegal profit earned is ≥ VND 200,000,000;

d) The property damage caused by the offence is assessed at ≥ VND 500,000,000;

dd) The offence involves infringement of privacy which results in the suicide of the victim;

e) The offence has a negative impact on social security, order or safety or Vietnam's diplomatic relationship;

g) The offence results in a demonstration.

3. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain jobs for 01 - 05 years.”

Thus, depending on the nature and severity of the case, the release of a clip that causes bad publicity to affect individuals may be criminally handled according to the provisions of law and the maximum fine is up to 07 years and may prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain jobs for 01 - 05 years. In addition, if causing damage, they must compensate for the damage according to the provisions of law.