On the morning of 4/12, the National Assembly Standing Committee commented on the draft amended Press Law. The Culture and Social Affairs Committee's explanatory report indicated that many delegates urged adding specialized policies for media development. These policies would align with the digital transformation context, particularly focusing on tax incentives and financial aid for media agencies engaged in public service tasks and technology investment.

Based on this feedback, the Standing Committee and the drafting agency revised the draft. They incorporated provisions for The State to implement tax incentive policies under current law. The Corporate Income Tax Law now stipulates a 10% tax rate for all media activities. Previously, only print media enjoyed this rate, while online newspapers, television, and radio were subject to a 20% tax rate.

Chairman of the Culture and Social Affairs Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh. Photo: Hoang Phong

The draft law specifies that The State will focus on human resource training, scientific research, and technology application. It will also incentivize investment in national digital media platforms, media data infrastructure, and digital tools for monitoring media activities in cyberspace.

The State will continue to assign tasks, commission content, conduct bidding, and support transportation, publication, transmission, and broadcasting costs for media. This support targets media outlets performing political tasks, national defense and security, foreign information, emergency propaganda, and other critical duties.

Some delegates proposed regulations to compel cross-border platforms, such as Google, Facebook, and TikTok, to pay fees when exploiting journalistic content and share revenue with Vietnamese media agencies. Delegates also called for clarifying copyright protection mechanisms to limit unauthorized copying, which affects authorship rights and information transparency.

The Standing Committee stated that the draft has added a provision. This requires organizations and individuals using journalistic works to reach an agreement with media agencies in accordance with copyright and related rights law.

The Culture and Social Affairs Committee also agreed with some delegates' proposals to facilitate media agencies' access to capital. This capital would come from the Science and Technology Development Fund and the National Technology Innovation Fund, aiming to enhance technology investment capabilities.

The National Assembly is expected to consider and pass the amended Press Law on 10/12.

Son Ha