Perfecting regulations on press activities in cyberspace

National Assembly Deputy Pham Khanh Phong Lan: It is necessary to create conditions for the press to develop and compete healthily.

The draft Law on Press (amended) is generally written very elaborately and in detail. However, looking at it, I feel that it is a bit "bureaucratic" in press activities, while today's press activities have a very fierce competitive environment. Press agencies have to race with each other every minute, every second to capture news in time, because the development of social networks has completely changed the way of receiving information compared to traditional print newspapers.

Some provisions in the draft Law also focus on controlling official press agencies, which invisibly creates an unhealthy and unequal competition mechanism between the official press and freelance reporters, because now everyone has a Facebook, and when they have hot news, they post it immediately. Another challenge for traditional press is the copyright issue. A journalist writes a very good and dedicated article, but 30 seconds after the article is published, it can be copied and appear all over the internet. In that context, I really hope that we must create conditions for the press to develop; ensure that the press competes with each other in expertise and competes in a healthy way.

National Assembly Delegate Trang A Duong ( Tuyen Quang ): Supplementing regulations on ensuring copyright and related rights when using AI to create journalistic works

I agree with the necessity of building the Press Law (amended) to perfect legal regulations to promptly institutionalize the Party's policies and guidelines on "building a professional, humane and modern press and media" in the current context.

Regarding press agencies, Clause 7, Article 16 of the draft Law stipulates that "local press, radio and television agencies are press agencies under the provincial and municipal Party Committees, with many types of press and press products". I suggest considering specific regulations on this content. Because in the context that we are continuing to improve and arrange the organizational apparatus, regulations on the position and organizational structure of press agencies should only be stipulated in principle in the draft Law. This is also consistent with the policy stated in Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW of the Politburo on innovation in law-making and enforcement to meet the requirements of national development in the new era.

Regarding the permanent agencies, representative offices, and resident reporters of Vietnamese press agencies in Article 22, I think that the provisions in Point c, Clause 1 of this Article should only stipulate general principles, not specify the specific number of "no more than three reporters". Because the assignment of the number of resident reporters depends on the needs and specific conditions of each press agency, it should be adjusted in sub-law documents, giving the authority to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism to stipulate (the content has been stated in Point d, Clause 1, Article 22 of the draft Law).

The provisions on copyright in the field of journalism (Article 39) of the draft Law are inherited and kept intact from the corresponding provisions of the 2016 Press Law. However, through research, I found that this provision only stops at citing the application of the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law and has not created new values for the field of journalism.

Regulations like the draft Law will lead to gaps in determining the responsibilities of press agencies and distinguishing copyright and related rights for press works using artificial intelligence (AI) such as using AI to write news, edit photos, create videos, etc.

Therefore, I propose that the drafting agency consider and revise the provisions in Article 39 in the direction of: researching and supplementing the responsibility of press agencies in ensuring copyright and related rights when using AI to create press works, while clearly defining the principle of transparency and determining legal responsibility.

National Assembly Delegate Doan Thi Thanh Mai (Hung Yen): Strict regulations on press activities in cyberspace

The Press Law is a very important law, especially in the current context where the media has a huge impact on social life. Amending the Press Law in the new context is appropriate and very necessary.

However, in the draft Law, there are 25 articles assigned to the Government and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to specify in detail, this number is quite large. The drafting agency needs to carefully review and ensure the correct authority according to regulations and complete the implementation guidance documents on schedule.

In practice, press activities in cyberspace are complex, wide-ranging, difficult to control and manage. Information is multi-dimensional, multi-level and everywhere, penetrating all levels of society. With such complex content and wide-ranging scope, I suggest that the drafting agency continue to study and supplement stricter and more complete regulations on press activities in cyberspace in Section 1, Chapter III of the draft Law to ensure that it reflects comprehensiveness and comprehensiveness.

In Clause 19, Article 3 on the explanation of terms, the definition is stated: " Information products of a journalistic nature are information products expressed in journalistic genres, published in newsletters and special editions of agencies, organizations and enterprises". Thus, the draft Law has included special editions and newsletters of agencies, organizations and enterprises as an information product. Therefore, it is recommended that the drafting agency have a supplementary report related to products such as newsletters and special editions in the recent past when implementing them. At the same time, review the provisions in the draft Law, clarify whether the application to information products of a journalistic nature such as newsletters and special editions is complete or not?

Regarding the conditions for granting press operation licenses, Point b, Clause 1, Article 17 of the draft Law stipulates that the subjects proposed to be granted press operation licenses are higher education institutions according to the provisions of the Law on Higher Education; scientific and technological organizations organized in the form of academies and institutes according to the provisions of the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation; provincial-level hospitals or equivalent or higher.

While the legal basis and regulations for educational training institutions and scientific and technological organizations are clear, the legal basis for the subject of “provincial hospitals or equivalent or higher” is unclear. Therefore, it is recommended that the drafting agency clarify these contents.

In addition, it is necessary to consider the regulation in Clause 1, Article 26 on "press agencies submitting 5 printed press publications and one digitalized copy of the publication to be kept at the National Library of Vietnam" to be consistent with the innovation of archiving methods, reducing paper documents and enhancing digitalization of archiving work.

Source: https://daibieunhandan.vn/hoan-thien-quy-dinh-ve-hoat-dong-bao-chi-tren-khong-gian-mang-10392658.html