What constitutes a legal way to review products and services?

Ms. Nguyen Minh A. (42 years old) owns a long-standing family-run pho restaurant with branches in several provinces and cities nationwide. Recently, Ms. A. accidentally saw her pho restaurant being shared by TikTokers along with comments and reviews. Among them was a video from a TikTok account named Pham B. which contained negative comments about the quality of her pho, leading to a sharp drop in her revenue that month.

Ms. A asked:Does TikToker Pham B. have the right to review your pho restaurant? Will negative or false reviews result in legal action?

Reply:

Currently, there are no legal regulations prohibiting the act of evaluating or sharing personal experiences when using a product or service, including food and beverage services (this activity is commonly referred to as "reviews"). This is also a form of freedom of speech recognized by the Constitution. The Law on Protection of Consumer Rights of 2010 stipulates that consumers have the right to provide feedback to organizations and individuals doing business in goods and services regarding prices, quality of goods and services, service style, transaction methods, and other content related to transactions between consumers and organizations and individuals doing business in goods and services.

Clause 2, Article 9 of the 2010 Law on Consumer Protection also stipulates that consumers have the obligation to inform relevant State agencies, organizations, and individuals when they discover goods and services circulating in the market that do not ensure safety, cause damage or threaten to cause damage to the life, health, and property of consumers; or when the actions of organizations and individuals trading in goods and services infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.

However, while people exercise their rights, they also have an obligation to respect the rights of others. They must be responsible for their comments and judgments, ensuring they are not contrary to social ethics, do not infringe upon the interests of the nation or people, and do not violate the legitimate rights and interests of others.

If Mr. B uses his influence on social media to review products, services, or food in a way that is untrue, biased, fabricated, or spreads false information… with the aim of damaging the reputation of products, services, or food; causing confusion among consumers; or causing harm to organizations or individuals, then this is a violation of the law.

Depending on the nature and severity, this behavior may be subject to administrative penalties or, more seriously, criminal prosecution. According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 101 of Decree No. 15/2020/ND-CP on administrative penalties in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequencies, information technology, and electronic transactions: a fine of 10-20 million VND; confiscation of infringing goods and means; and mandatory removal of false or misleading information.

Or, more seriously, Ms. A. could accuse Mr. B. of committing the crime of defamation under Article 156 or the crime of illegally providing or using information on computer networks or telecommunications networks under Article 288 of the 2015 Penal Code, as amended in 2017. In addition, Ms. A. could file a lawsuit for damages if she believes Mr. B. provided false information about the product, causing harm to her business and production activities.