Arbitrarily spreading sensitive images of a couple in a car is a violation of the law

Recently, a clip of a couple with sensitive personal images in a car with a license plate in Ho Chi Minh City was widely spread on many social networking sites.

Lawyer Tran Phi Dai, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, said that according to the provisions of Article 32 of the Civil Code, individuals have rights to their image, and the use of an individual's image must be agreed upon by that person.

In addition, the Law on Protection of Personal Data also stipulates that personal images, phone numbers, personal identification numbers, passport numbers, driver's license numbers, license plate numbers are basic personal data; information about private life, personal secrets, family secrets; data revealing personal sexual life and sexual orientation are sensitive data.

The law on Personal Data Protection strictly prohibits handling personal data contrary to the provisions of law, and organizations and individuals who commit violations of the law related to personal data protection, depending on the nature, severity, and consequences of the violation, may be subject to administrative sanctions or criminal prosecution; if damage is caused, compensation must be made according to the provisions of law.

Lawyer Tran Phi Dai, said that the act of personal Facebook pages arbitrarily and unintentionally spreading images, accompanied by offensive words and content of the above-mentioned couple shows signs of serious violation of the law because it has infringed on the rights to image, private life, honor, and dignity of others protected by law.

In fact, functional agencies have fined and even prosecuted many cases of humiliating others for posting sensitive images on social networks," lawyer Dai said.

Also according to Lawyer Dai, Article 13, Decree 330/2026/ND-CP Regulating penalties for administrative violations in the field of network security and personal data protection (effective from August 19, 2026) stipulates that individuals posting information in cyberspace belonging to work secrets, business secrets, personal secrets, family secrets and private life that affect the honor, prestige, dignity, legitimate rights and interests of agencies, organizations, and individuals but are not criminally prosecuted may be fined from 10 million VND to 20 million VND. In case the organization violates, the penalty is double.

If the severity is serious, it may be considered for criminal prosecution for the crime of humiliating others as prescribed in Article 155 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017 for seriously infringing upon the dignity and honor of others, with the highest penalty of up to 2 years in prison.

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