Vietnam to bring rule ordering social media platforms to provide user information – report

Vietnam has ordered foreign social media companies to verify users’ accounts and provide their identifies to authorities on demand, Vietnamese news website Dan Tri reported on Monday.

Foreign social media platforms having an average of 100,000 or more visits a month must comply with the rules, as per the new decree issued on Nov. 9 and which becomes effective Dec. 25. Foreign companies providing cross-border information services to Vietnam will have 90 days to adhere to the rules, the report added.

Vietnam does not block websites such as Meta Platforms’ (META) Facebook, but the government can jail citizens who spread what is viewed as anti-state or anti-party content, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

The decree orders social network companies to verify users accounts with their local phone numbers or personal identification numbers for those who do not have Vietnamese phone numbers.

The decree notes that only accounts authenticated by phone number or personal identification number are allowed to operate, including posting information, commenting, livestreaming and sharing content, the report added.

Foreign social media firms must also store information about Vietnam users, such as full names, birthdates and phone numbers, and provide them to authorities if requested, the report noted.

In addition, the companies are ordered to file annual reports on their services in Vietnam to the government. Any content or apps said to be illegal should also be removed within 24 hours of being flagged by the government, according to the report.

The companies are also directed to block accounts and pages temporarily in Vietnam which are accused of publishing illegal content with a frequency for seven to 30 days.

As of January, Vietnam had 72.7 million social media users, almost equal to 73.3% of the Asian nation’s population, according to a report by Kepios.