Following Vingroup’s civil lawsuit against individuals and organizations who criticized the company, there has been growing discussion about resolving disputes over speech through civil proceedings—a trend previously welcomed as a positive sign for Việt Nam’s legal culture (Sa Huỳnh, Đan Thanh).

However, civil cases in Việt Nam can easily morph into criminal matters. The core of the problem is a legal imbalance: while the Penal Code devotes considerable attention—across four separate articles—to punishing speech violations, the 2015 Civil Code makes no explicit reference to such disputes.