Like the broadcast media, Việt Nam's print media are subject to the Press Law, which was passed at the 6th session of the 8th National Assembly of Việt Nam on 28 January 1989. This law includes seven chapters and 31 articles specifying the role, function and rights of the media and penalties for violation. The Council of Ministers is charged with stipulating in detail the way in which the Press Law is implemented. The media's role is defined in Việt Nam as being ‘the voice of the party and of the masses’ and its main function as being ‘to propagate the party's lines and policies’ as well as reporting and analysing the news.

The government maintains strict control of all sectors of the media, but the Press Law sets out the right of journalists to disseminate information through their own sources and also offers limited protection for confidentiality of sources, thereby allowing greater scope for investigative reporting. Nowadays it is common to find government policy and other issues of important being discussed openly in Vietnamese newspapers, which play an increasingly important role in shaping public policy agenda and priorities. In recent years numerous drafts of forthcoming legislation have been amended, repealed or even rescinded following vigorous debate in the press.

Print journalists are also required to follow the Code of Ethics (Quy định về Đạo đức) of the Việt Nam Journalists' Association.