LEGAL RISKS OF PUBLISHING SOMEONE ELSE'S PERSONAL INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

In the era of booming social media, sharing other people's images and information with a simple click to "post" has become incredibly common. However, many individuals are unaware of the unpredictable consequences of their posts. International human rights law imposes strict regulations on the protection of personal rights and individual data, and nations worldwide are required to comply with these common standards. Consequently, Vietnamese law has had to strictly establish new regulations to keep pace with international trends in order to expand diplomatic relations. Many new regulations have been implemented to crack down on acts of profiteering from the violation of others' personal rights and data

1. Causes and psychology of individuals disclosing others' personal information on social media

Publicizing personal information – also commonly referred to by the community with the familiar slang "exposing" (bốc phốt) each other on social networks. These individuals often assume they have the right to express their thoughts due to their freedom of speech under the Constitution of Vietnam. They do not realize that they are only entitled to "freedom of speech" within the framework permitted by law and must not affect or cause damage to any other individual or organization.

The psychology of this group of individuals is the desire for the main character in the story to receive a well-deserved lesson by having people on social media freely hurling insults and joining in to defend this group. In reality, the main character might not deserve such treatment, but their honor, dignity, and reputation will certainly be heavily affected, even impacting the personal brand they have tried to build. Behaviors like this have pushed many individuals into the abyss, making it impossible for them to live freely and comfortably like normal people for the rest of their lives; instead, they become fearful and anxious about public criticism, even when they do not entirely deserve it.

2. Personal rights protected by law

* Right to image

According to Article 32 of the 2015 Civil Code, the use of an individual's image requires their consent. Posting and sharing others' images on social media without permission, even if not for malicious purposes, can still be considered an act of infringing upon image rights, except in cases where the law permits the use of images without consent.

* Right to protection of honor, dignity, and reputation

According to Article 34 of the 2015 Civil Code, the honor, dignity, and reputation of an individual are inviolable and protected by law. Posting false or insulting information about an individual on social media can constitute an act of infringing upon this right.

* Right to privacy, personal secrets, and family secrets

According to Article 38 of the 2015 Civil Code, the collection, storage, use, and publicization of information related to private life and personal secrets must be consented to by that person. Arbitrarily posting the private life, relationships, health, or financial matters of others on social media, regardless of the motive, poses legal risks for the poster.

3. Acts of publicizing personal information considered as law violations and handling measures

3.1. Acts subject to administrative penalties

As of July 1, 2026, Decree 174/2026/ND-CP regulating administrative sanctions in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequencies, electronic transactions, and information technology officially takes effect, replacing the previous Decree 15/2020/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 14/2022/ND-CP).

According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 95 of Decree 174/2026/ND-CP, any individual who abuses social networks to provide or share fake information, false information, distortions, slander, or insults to the reputation of agencies, organizations, or the honor and dignity of other individuals may be fined from 20,000,000 VND to 30,000,000 VND.

Besides sanctions against individuals showing signs of violation, Article 94 of Decree 174/2026/ND-CP stipulates that organizations providing social networking services that allow the storage and transmission of fake, false, slanderous, or distorted information on their platforms, such as Facebook, TikTok,... without preventing or removing it upon the request of competent authorities, can also be fined from 50,000,000 VND to 70,000,000 VND, along with supplementary measures such as deprivation of the right to use licenses or suspension of social networking service provision for a definite period.

3.2. Acts subject to criminal prosecution

Individuals who illegally publicize others' personal information, if fully satisfying the elements constituting a crime, shall face criminal prosecution under the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017. Specifically:

3.3. Filing a civil lawsuit and claiming damages

In cases where the act of publicizing personal information does not meet the elements to be subject to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution, but has caused damage to the person whose information is infringed upon, based on Article 11 of the 2015 Civil Code, the infringed person can sue the violating individual and request the implementation of compensation measures when their honor, dignity, and reputation are severely violated:

i. Forcible termination of the infringing act.

ii. Forcible public apology and rectification.

iii. Forcible performance of obligations.

iv. Forcible compensation for damages regarding infringement of honor, reputation, and dignity.

4. New legal framework for personal information protection in cyberspace

As of January 1, 2026, the Law on Personal Data Protection No. 91/2025/QH15 officially takes effect, along with Decree 356/2025/ND-CP detailing its implementation. This is Vietnam's first law to comprehensively regulate the collection, processing, storage, and publication of personal data, instead of relying on scattered regulations as before. In principle, processing others' personal data, including public posting on social networks, requires the consent of the data subject.

From a ruling by the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in 2014, a new legal concept was born: the "Right to be forgotten". According to the ruling, the Court determined that individuals have the right to request search engines to remove links to their personal information if that information is no longer relevant, is inaccurate, affects their privacy, or is unnecessary.

It is not until recently that, in Vietnam, the Law on Personal Data Protection has begun to adopt this concept, which is specifically stipulated in Article 9 of the Law on Personal Data Protection. Accordingly, individuals establish the right to request data deletion (Right to be forgotten) for data subjects, creating a clear legal basis for individuals whose information is illegally posted to request its removal.

Individuals and organizations processing data on a large scale and systematically (Admins of Groups on major social networking sites like Facebook, TikTok,...) will bear higher compliance responsibilities, including the obligation to notify when data leakage incidents occur.

In conclusion, "exposing" each other on social media has significantly impacted an individual's honor, dignity, and reputation, regardless of whether the content is true or false. Protecting personal information on social media environments is a pressing issue for the legislature and executive branches in particular, and for society as a whole. When individuals can freely speak out and insult the honor, dignity, and reputation of another individual, they must be prepared to face the risk of administrative penalties in cyberspace. At the same time, they will be sued by the victim and asked to compensate for damages for having infringed upon human rights, freedoms, and the right to protection of an individual's honor, dignity, and reputation. Therefore, every individual participating in social media needs to be vigilant and fully respect and uphold the personal rights of any other individual or organization. In addition, one should proactively learn about legal regulations and exercise caution when sharing information related to others' private lives, not only to protect oneself but also to respect the legitimate rights and interests of those around them.

DL PINNACLE LAW FIRM LLC