In the meeting, Deputy Director General Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (under the Ministry of Information and Communications) informed that in 2024, 80 additional comprehensive electronic information websites and 40 domestic social networks were licensed.
The total number of Vietnamese social media accounts is approximately 110 million, with Zalo boasting 76.5 million monthly users. Regarding foreign social media platforms, Vietnamese users have around 202 million accounts, including 72 million on Facebook, 63 million on YouTube, and 67 million on TikTok.
In 2024, local Information and Communications Departments detected, processed, and rectified 290 e-information websites exhibiting potential legal violations (20 cases showing signs of acting like a news agency).
The Ministry of Information and Communications continues to employ a combination of rigorous and flexible strategies when engaging with cross-border platforms, demanding they block and remove content violating Vietnamese law.
Consequently, Facebook blocked and removed 8,981 contents undermining the Party and State, achieving a 94-percent compliance rate; Google blocked and removed 6,063 violations on YouTube, with a 91-percent rate; and TikTok removed 971 problematic contents, accounting for 93 percent.
Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Duc Long shared that the influences of domestic social media platforms remain limited compared to those of cross-border platforms. Over the past five years, these cross-border platforms have made positive strides in collaborating with regulatory agencies to address violations and intensify communication efforts to help citizens recognize and be cautious of fake or fraudulent information.
Decree No.147/2024/ND-CP, establishing regulations for internet service management, provision, and utilization, has added content to limit the phenomenon of “acting like a news agency” of comprehensive e-information pages and social networks.
- Comprehensive e-information pages can only post articles later than one hour compared to the time of receiving information from at least 3 press agencies;
- Comprehensive e-information associated with e-newspapers can only be produced in certain fields;
- E-newspapers must be responsible for linked content, and the ratio of linked content does not exceed 50 percent of the total number of articles of the press agency in a month;
- E-information pages do not use domain names or names that cause confusion with the press;
- Users are not allowed to comment on articles on the page.
Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP also specifies social media users' responsibilities. Accordingly, users must be accountable for content they provide, store, transmit, and share online. They must comply with specialized sector regulations when offering specialized services on social media and adhere to tax and payment regulations for business activities or revenue generation.
Channels, accounts, groups, and fan pages in Vietnam must not name themselves identically or confusingly similar to media organizations. The owners of channel, account, group, and fan page must temporarily block or remove violating information affecting other organizations’ or individuals’ interests within 48 hours of user requests or within 24 hours upon receiving requests from authorized state management agencies.
