Vietnam; According to a report by VN Express, Vietnam’s information ministry has stated that TikTok may face a ban in the country if it fails to eliminate harmful, offensive, untrue, and superstitious content from its platform.
On Thursday, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Lam said that Vietnamese laws regarding cybersecurity are sufficient, and banning or removing apps that violate these laws is not the only option available.
The leader of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, Le Quang Tu Do, stated that the Vietnamese government possesses a variety of economic, technical, and diplomatic strategies to address international platforms.
VN Express reported that the Vietnamese government could employ economic measures such as cutting off platforms from advertisers, banks, and e-commerce to stop the money flow to them. On the technical side, the government can block domains and servers if platforms do not remove content that violates Vietnamese laws upon authorities’ request.
Earlier, Le Quang Tu Do stated that the Vietnamese government would begin inspecting TikTok next month to address harmful and false content. Recently, the platform has been flooded with dangerous, offensive, inaccurate, and superstitious content in Vietnam.
According to VN Express, the communications ministry will conduct the inspection to ensure that TikTok complies with Vietnamese regulations in both content and operations.
Le Quang Tu Do mention that social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube have international standards as cross-border applications. However, once they enter Vietnam, they must abide by the country’s regulations on content management, tax, payments, and commercial policy.
Countries such as India and Pakistan have banned TikTok due to privacy, security, and content concerns. In contrast, the US and Australia have prohibited government employees from using the app.
