Vietnam to ban Tiktok? All you need to know as country probes ‘toxic’ content

According to local media reports citing the country’s information ministry, a lot of toxic, offensive, false and superstitious content has recently begun appearing on the social media app. The Ministry of Communications is now set to conduct an inspection to verify whether the content and operations of social media platforms adhere to the country’s regulations.

“Vietnamese law has enough provisions to ensure cybersecurity, and is not limited to banning or removing violating apps,” VN Express quoted Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Thanh Lam as saying. 

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“TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are all cross-border social media with international standards. But when entering Vietnam, they need to comply with Vietnam’s laws, which include regulations on content management and tax, payments and commercial policy,” ministry representative Le Quang Tu Do added.

Officials indicated that they have a slew of  have economic, technical and diplomatic tools to act against international platforms in case of violations. Economic measures include cutting off money flows, with platforms being cut off from advertisers, banks and e-commerce.

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In recent months a slew of countries have imposed curbs against TikTok over privacy and security concerns. While some such as India and Pakistan have imposed an outright ban – making the app and website unavailable to all – others such as the the US and Australia have made the app off-limits for government employees.

(With inputs from agencies)