by Admin
Def 25, 2024
The Vietnamese government has activated a new social media law that requires all users to submit and register on big-tech social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok to verify their phone numbers or national identity information alongside their full name and date of birth.
The new law, activated under Decree 147 of the Vietnamese social media law, came into full force on Wednesday.
Decree 147 demands that all social media platforms must remove any content deemed illegal within 24 hours.
The decree also demands that only verified users be authorized to livestream, which limits the significant number of people who earn a living through social commerce on sites such as TikTok.
The new social media law also seeks the ramifications for social media firms to curb gaming for under-18s in a bid to prevent addiction among Vietnamese children.
Game publishers are expected to enforce a time limit of an hour per game session and not more than 180 minutes a day for all games.
Vietnam is a country of 100 million population with more than half active users of YouTube and TikTok. According to statistics released by the Vietnamese Ministry of Information, the country has around 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube, and 20 million on TikTok.
The Decree has been met with strong criticisms from the people, calling the act an infringement on the Human Rights Act of Expression and Freedom.
Le Anh Hung, a former Vietnamese political prisoner said The decree was “the latest sign of infringement of basic freedoms… with a vague line between what is legal and what is not,”
He added, “No one wants to go to jail, so of course some activists will be more cautious and afraid of this decree.”
Decree 147 was established on a 2018 Vietnamese cybersecurity law that has been widely criticized by the United States, European Union, and internet freedom advocates who said it imitates China’s repressive censorship of the internet.