April 20, 2022

Exclusive-Vietnam plans 24-hour take-down law for "illegal" social media content -sources - Yahoo Finance

FILE PHOTO: A Facebook user logs in on his mobile at a cafe in Hanoi

By Phuong Nguyen and Fanny Potkin

HANOI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Vietnam is preparing new rules requiring social media firms to take down content it deems illegal within 24 hours, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The planned amendments to current law will cement Vietnam, a $1 billion market for Facebook, as one of the world's most stringent regimes for social media firms and will strengthen the ruling Communist Party's hand as it cracks down on "anti-state" activity.

The 24-hour time frame to take down "illegal content and services" will not have a grace period, while active "illegal livestreams" must be blocked within three hours, the people said. Companies that do not meet the deadlines could see their platforms banned in the country, they added.

Social media companies have also been told content that harms national security must be taken down immediately, according to two of the people and a third source.

Currently, social media platforms often have a few days to handle requests from the Vietnamese government, the sources said.

The amendments, which have not been made public, are expected to be signed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh next month and enforced from July, five people said.

Sources who spoke with Reuters for this article declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Vietnam's communications and foreign ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

Representatives for Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet Inc, which owns YouTube and Google, declined to comment. Twitter Inc said it had no immediate comment.

TikTok, which is owned by China's ByteDance, will continue to comply with applicable local laws to ensure TikTok remains a safe space for creative expression, its Vietnam representative Nguyen Lam Thanh told Reuters, adding it would take down content that breaks platform guidelines.

Most governments do not have laws imposing the taking down of content on social media firms, but Vietnam's move comes amid intensifying crackdowns in some parts of the world on online content that have alarmed activists.



source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/exclusive-vietnam-plans-24-hour-072920267.html

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