When online advertising is rampant and uncontrolled, consumers get lost in a “matrix” of counterfeit goods, reputable brands are affected, and legitimate businesses are struggling.
Behind that chaos is a big gap in content control, and responsibility is still open from social networking platforms, ad networks to famous faces promoting products.
Consumers – Victims of the False Advertising Matrix
On May 12, 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha (Hanoi) bought a box of functional foods advertised as “certified by the Ministry of Health” from a celebrity’s livestream on social media. However, after only one week of use, she had to be hospitalized due to a severe allergic reaction. Talking to reporters, she said: “I completely trusted it because I saw celebrities promoting it and there were thousands of positive comments. I didn’t expect the product to be unlicensed and of unknown origin.”
Ms. Ha’s story is not an isolated one. Since the beginning of the year, the authorities have received many complaints related to products falsely advertised on social media and have inspected and handled many violations. Notably, most of the cases involved products advertised by KOLs/KOCs – people with great influence in the digital environment. Typically, recently, the Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted the case of “Production of counterfeit food products” and “Deception of customers” occurring at Asia Life Company, Chi Em Rot Company and a number of related companies in Ho Chi Minh City and Dak Lak province. In the case, many famous people and KOLs were prosecuted and temporarily detained such as: Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien, Pham Quang Linh (Quang Linh Vlogs), Nguyen Thi Thai Hang (Hang Du Muc)…
Meanwhile, the Market Management Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) has also continuously discovered many cases of taking advantage of digital platforms to sell counterfeit goods through advertisements that deceive emotions. One of the common tricks is to use images of famous people or logos of authorities to create false trust.
Recently, the Food Safety Department has warned consumers about products of unknown origin or containing prohibited substances. In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has also proposed sending text messages to warn people about false advertising related to medicine, milk and functional foods on social networks.
Speaking to VTV Times reporter, Ms. Le Hoang Oanh – Director of the Department of E-commerce and Digital Economy (Ministry of Industry and Trade) commented: “The online environment is being overused in false advertising. The problem lies in the fact that not only sellers, but also intermediaries such as ad networks and social networking platforms do not have an effective monitoring mechanism”.
Not only causing economic damage, false advertising also erodes trust in the formal market. According to communications expert Tran Huu Duc: “When trust is damaged, consumers will turn their backs on even real brands and real products. The consequences will last for the entire economy.”
When management loopholes become “fertile ground” for fraudsters
The power of social media in marketing cannot be denied, but this explosion is also posing a big challenge for management agencies. Decree 13/2022/ND-CP of the Government has clearly regulated the management of advertising activities, but according to legal experts, its application in the digital environment is still very slow and lacks specific deterrent sanctions.
“Although Decree 13/2022/ND-CP has set out clear regulations on advertising activities, in practice in the online environment, the legal effect of this document is still “limited”. The biggest weakness lies in the lack of a process for censoring advertising content before publishing on digital platforms. Moreover, there are currently no specific sanctions for KOLs/KOCs, who are playing a central role in the current “false advertising machine”, said lawyer Tran Thi Ly.
Ms. Ly further assessed that recently, many counterfeit goods have been widely consumed thanks to the assistance of influential people. Therefore, tightening the regulations of the Advertising Law, especially the advertising activities of KOLs and KOCs, has received great public attention.
Recently, the Law on Advertising (amended) was submitted to the National Assembly for comments in the context of a series of scandals about fake milk, fake medicine, fake cosmetics, fake consumer goods, etc. being exposed. In particular, Article 15a of the draft Law stipulates that when transmitting advertising products, in addition to the general obligations, influencers must also comply with three more obligations: One is to verify the credibility of the advertiser. Two is to check documents related to the advertised products, goods, and services; in case they have not used or do not clearly understand the goods, products, and services, they are not allowed to introduce them. Three is to notify the recipient of the advertisement in advance about their advertising activities.
Tighten from the root and clarify the responsibility of each link
In the face of this situation, the authorities have issued many documents requiring social networking platforms, especially Facebook, TikTok, YouTube… to control advertising content. From April 2025, a new regulation requires platforms to store advertising account information, check content with management agencies when requested, and force removal within 24 hours if violations are detected.
However, according to Mr. Do Van Minh – a media technology expert, the platforms are only “doing it for show” and have not really coordinated deeply with the authorities. “The removal of violating posts happens too late, while fraudulent advertising campaigns usually only last a few days. When the posts are removed, consumers have already suffered losses.”
For ad networks – intermediary advertising networks, control is being loosened. In many cases, ad networks do not censor content, only focusing on the number of impressions and shared revenue. This is a link that experts assess as requiring clear regulations on joint responsibility when allowing violating advertisements to pass.
On the KOL/KOC side, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is coordinating to build a list of “transparent KOLs”, which requires public disclosure of advertising contracts and legal responsibility if promoting unverified products.
In the context of the online environment increasingly becoming a fertile ground for advertising, control cannot rely solely on the authorities. Consumers themselves also need to become “smart digital consumers”, identify risks, and be cautious of flattering words from celebrities.
At the same time, a clear ecosystem of responsibility is needed: from social networking platforms, ad networks, content creators to KOLs, all cannot be innocent if false advertising is rampant. Because the damage is real, not only to people’s pockets but also to the reputation of Vietnamese brands and public health./.
– According to Kate Tran –
