Rules for rating sports and entertainment video/audio-on-demand contents in Vietnam

No.

Rating and rating symbol

Factor description

1.

Eligible for dissemination to listeners or viewers of all ages

Symbol: P

a) Theme and content

The program to be rated is of an educational or entertaining nature, or encourages moral values and positive social relations.

b) Violence

- Images, sounds, or language showing the scenes of threatening, intimidating or beating another person do not occur;

- Depictions of sexual violence are not allowed.

c) Nudity and sex

Images showing nudity; or images, sounds, or language depicting nudity or sexual activities are not accepted.

d) Drugs, stimulants and addictive substances

Images, sounds, or language showing the use of drugs, stimulants or additive substances are not allowed.

dd) Horror

Images, sounds, or language of horror are not allowed.

e) Vulgar images, sounds and language (including subtitles)

Obscene or vulgar images, sounds or language are not allowed.

g) Dangerous and easily imitable behaviors

Images, sounds or language that encourage or incite imitation such as the use of drugs, stimulants or addictive substances, suicide, violence, use of weapon or other dangerous tools which may cause wounds, or other illegal acts are not allowed.

2.

Eligible for dissemination to listeners or viewers under 13 years old, provided that they are with their parents or guardians

Symbol: K

a) Theme and content

- The same as those of P rated programs;

- Mild depictions of contents that require guidance of parents or guardians are allowed, provided the depiction has minimal impact on listeners or viewers, and must be justified by context.

b) Violence

- Mild depictions without detail of images, sounds, or language showing violence are allowed if the depiction is infrequent, has a slight level of impact on listeners or viewers, and must be justified by the theme and contents of the program to be rated;

- Depiction of sexual violence is not allowed.

c) Nudity and sex

- The same as those of P rated programs;

d) Drugs, stimulants and addictive substances

Images, sounds, or language showing the use of drugs, stimulants or addictive substances, may be accepted if they serve the purposes of condemning, opposing those behaviors, or are associated with clear educational purposes and messages; are depicted in an implied and tactful manner, and justified by the contents of the program to be rated.

dd) Horror

Mild depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of horror images, sounds, or language are allowed if the depiction does not last for a prolonged duration, has little impact and does not inflict a sense of threat on listeners or viewers. The result of such images, sounds, or language should make listeners or viewers feel reassured and relieved.

e) Vulgar images, sounds and language (including subtitles)

Mild depictions without frequent occurrence of vulgar images, sounds, or language may be accepted, if they are justified by the theme and contents of the program to be rated, such as using slang, or ways of handling situations in a humorous manner.

g) Dangerous and easily imitable behaviors

Images, sounds or language that encourage or incite imitation such as the use of drugs, suicide, violence, use of weapon or other dangerous tools which may cause wounds, or other illegal acts are not allowed, except if such images, sounds or language are justified by the contents of the program to be rated, associated with clear educational messages, depicted in an implied and tactful manner without deep exploration.

3.

Eligible for dissemination to listeners or viewers from 13 years old or older

Symbol: T13

a) Theme and content

- Contents of the program to be rated do not reflect the matters which cause listeners or viewers aged 13 or over cognitive or emotional distortion, psychological disorder; make them fall into a state of fear, pessimism or boredom; negatively affect the formation and development of the personality of teenage listeners or viewers;

- For programs containing action or horror contents or child abuse themes, the mild depictions without detail, frequent occurrence and deep exploration may be accepted if the program contains clear educational messages.

b) Violence

- Mild depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of images, sounds, or language showing violence are allowed if the depiction has a slight level of impact on listeners or viewers, and must be justified by the theme and contents of the program to be rated;

- None of images, sounds, or language giving the detailed depiction of acts of causing painful wounds or injuries to or killing a person, animal or pet is accepted;

- Depiction of sexual violence is not allowed.

c) Nudity and sex

- The same as those of P rated programs;

d) Drugs, stimulants and addictive substances

Mild depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of images, sounds, or language showing the use of drugs, stimulants or addictive substances, may be accepted if they serve the purposes of condemning, opposing those behaviors, or are associated with clear educational purposes and messages, and must be justified by the theme and contents of the program to be rated.

dd) Horror

Moderate depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of horror images, sounds, and language are allowed if the depiction only inflicts a slight sense of threat on listeners or viewers. The result of such images, sounds, or language should make listeners or viewers feel reassured and relieved.

e) Vulgar images, sounds and language (including subtitles)

The same as those of K rated programs.

g) Dangerous and easily imitable behaviors

- The same as those of K rated programs;

- Detailed depiction of any potentially dangerous behavior that listeners or viewers aged 13 or over can imitate is not accepted, except if that behavior is demonstrated in a safe or humorous manner;

- Detailed depictions of easily accessible weapons, such as cutlery, sharp objects, or objects easily causing injuries or wounds, are not accepted. The program to be rated does not contain images showing anti-social behaviors that listeners or viewers aged 13 or over can copy or imitate.

4.

Eligible for dissemination to listeners or viewers from 16 years old or older

Symbol: T16

a) Theme and content

- The program mentions several adult matters, such as political, social, psychological, and criminal ones, provided that they are suitable for the perception, psychological, and physiological state of viewers aged 16 or over;

- For programs containing action or horror contents or child abuse themes, moderate depictions without detail, frequent occurrence and deep exploration may be accepted if the program contains clear educational messages;

- Mild depictions without lasting for the prolonged duration of themes, such as self-harm, life-threatening for objective reasons or suicide, are allowed but should be presented indirectly and must be justified by contents of the program to be rated.

b) Violence

- Mild depictions without frequent occurrence and lasting for the prolonged duration of images, sounds, or language showing violence are allowed if the depiction does not distress and only has a medium level of impact on listeners or viewers, except if such images, sounds, or language are justified by contents of the program to be rated;

- Implied depictions of sexual violence scenes are allowed as long as they are mild depictions and justified by contents of the program to be rated.

c) Nudity and sex

- The same as those of P rated programs;

- Funny contexts, humorous situations, or language showing allusions may be used to give detailed depictions without frequent occurrence and lasting for prolonged duration of nudity provided that they are justified by contents of the program to be rated.

d) Drugs, stimulants and addictive substances

- Images, sounds, or language associated with drugs, stimulants or addictive substances (if any) may be accepted if justified by contents of the program to be rated but their detailed depictions, frequent occurrence and prolonged duration are not allowed; In general, the program to be rated is not allowed to promote, provide detailed instructions about, or encourage the use of drugs, stimulants or addictive substances;

- None of images, sounds, or language showing the abuse of highly dangerous and easily accessible substances, such as solvents and acids, is accepted.

dd) Horror

- Strong depictions, without lasting for prolonged duration and deep exploration of threats of violence, of horror images, sounds, or language are allowed;

- The program causes depression or a sense of threat for listeners or viewers at a medium level.

e) Vulgar images, sounds and language (including subtitles)

- Moderate depictions without frequent occurrence of vulgar images, sounds, or language are allowed if they are justified by contents of the program to be rated;

- Villains in the program to be rated may use some swear or slang words if they are not meant to hurt any individuals and community. Use of language intended for sexual harassment or abuse is not allowed.

g) Dangerous and easily imitable behaviors

Mild depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of images, sounds, or language that encourage or incite the imitation of actions in the program, such as drug use, suicide, violence, weapon use or other illegal acts, may be accepted if they have a slight level of impact on listeners or viewers. The result of such images, sounds or language must deliver the message of condemnation and opposition of these wrongful acts.

5.

Eligible for dissemination to listeners or viewers from 18 years old or older

Symbol: T18

a) Theme and content

- Strong and detailed depictions without prolonged duration and frequent occurrence of adult matters are allowed if they are justified by contents of the program to be rated;

- For programs containing action or horror contents or child abuse themes, strong and detailed depictions that have a strong level of impact on listeners or viewers, without frequent occurrence and prolonged duration, may be accepted if the program contains clear educational messages;

- Moderate depictions, with deep exploration but without prolonged duration and frequent occurrence, which have a medium level of impact on listeners or viewers, of sensitive themes or contents, or political, cultural, social or economic matters may be accepted.

b) Violence

- Over-strong to under-excessive depictions, or strong depictions without prolonged duration, of images sounds, and language depicting violent behaviors that affect listeners or viewers may be accepted, if they occur with medium frequency and are justified by the genre of the program to be rated;

- Implied depictions of sexual violence scenes are allowed as long as they are moderate depictions and justified by contents of the program to be rated. The result of such images, sounds or language must deliver the message of condemnation and opposition of these wrongful acts.

c) Nudity and sex

- Depictions without prolonged duration of images showing the nudity of upper body back may be accepted if they do not include close-ups or specific scenes of genitalia, and are justified by contents of the program to be rated; Overuse of nude images or use of images causing sexual incitement are not allowed;

- Use of images, sounds, or language explicitly showing or giving detailed depictions of sexual activities is not allowed.

d) Drugs, stimulants and addictive substances

- The same as those of T16 rated programs;

- Use of images, sounds, or language ​​showing the trading, production, and possession of drugs or addictive substances is not allowed, except in the case of condemning, criticizing these wrongdoings, and lead to the consequence that characters performing these acts must be punished or eliminated.

dd) Horror

Strong depictions, with a constant sense of treat but without prolonged duration, of horrible, terrifying, frightening or fearful images, sounds or language are allowed if they do not have an excessive level of psychological and emotional impact on listeners or viewers.

e) Vulgar images, sounds and language (including subtitles)

- Depictions of vulgar images, sounds or language may be stronger than those of T16 rated programs but must not hurt any individuals and community. Use of language of sexual harassment or abuse is not allowed;

- For programs of social realism theme, the frequent occurrence without prolonged duration of vulgar images, sounds, or language may be accepted if justified by contents of the program to be rated.

g) Dangerous and easily imitable behaviors

- Since the program to be rated contains dangerous or easily imitable images, sounds, or language, or the way of handling the situation that leads listeners or viewers to exposure to the risk of being harmed, or causes social harms through their behaviors, the result must be radically handled, and convey educational and preventive messages;

- Depictions without detail and frequent occurrence of images, sounds, and language representing easily imitable behaviors are allowed if they have a medium level of impact on listeners or viewers.

6.

Prohibited from dissemination

Symbol: C

- Strictly prohibited contents and acts as defined in the Press Law on and relevant laws;

- Excessive depictions of rating factors.