How Much Responsibility Should Celebrities With Millions of Followers Bear?

For celebrities and online creators with millions of followers, influence brings commercial benefits, public visibility and a larger responsibility to the community, musician Nguyễn Văn Chung argues.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has proposed adding rules to the decree governing internet and online information services in Vietnam. Under the draft, owners and administrators of social-media accounts, content channels, community pages and community groups with a combined following of at least 1 million would have to provide written contact information to the specialized state authority responsible for electronic information.

The ministry says the measure would help manage accounts with large audiences and limit mistakes in information that can affect society widely. The proposal has prompted Tuổi Trẻ to gather views from artists and community administrators about the responsibilities attached to online influence.

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When we receive rights and benefits, we must accept the corresponding responsibilities and obligations. Influential people help shape society’s aesthetic tastes, lifestyles and opinions, especially among young people.

Nguyễn Văn Chung, whose personal Facebook account has 595,000 followers, said artists and creators gain benefits from their reputation, public image and commercial revenue. Their obligations should match those benefits, he said. “When we receive rights and benefits, we must accept the corresponding responsibilities and obligations,” Chung said. He added that influential people help shape social attitudes, lifestyles and aesthetic tastes, especially among young people.

Hoàng Huy Thịnh, administrator of the Cổ Động fan page, which has 496,000 followers, said identifying the people behind large accounts is necessary. “Many accounts or community groups with large followings, including KOLs, KOCs and fan pages with millions of followers, have influence no less than an official media channel,” he said. Thịnh added that each post can reach millions and shape public opinion, although the article ends before presenting his full view on the draft’s provisions.

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Many accounts or community groups with large followings, including KOLs, KOCs and fan pages with millions of followers, have influence no less than an official media channel. Each statement or post can reach millions of people and shape public opinion.