Vietnam yesterday introduced guidelines on social media behavior, encouraging people to post positive content about the Southeast Asian country and requiring state employees to report “conflicting information” to their superiors.
The code prohibits posts that violate the law and “affect the interests of the state” and applies to state organizations, social media companies and all their users in Vietnam.
“Social media users are encouraged to promote the beauty of Vietnam’s scenery, people and culture, and spread good stories about good people,” read the guidelines, which were promulgated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications.
Photo: AFP
It is not clear to what extent the directive is legally binding, or how it would be enforced.
The Vietnamese Communist Party tolerates little criticism, retains tight control over the media, and has over the past few years presided over an intensified crackdown on dissidents and rights advocates, some of whom are serving lengthy jail terms for posts on Facebook and YouTube.
In November last year, Reuters reported that Vietnamese authorities had threatened to shut down Facebook if the social media giant did not bow to government pressure to censor more local political content on the platform.
Vietnam is a major market for Facebook, which serves about 60 million users in the country and generates revenue of nearly US$1 billion, a sources familiar with the numbers said.
The new code requires social media providers in Vietnam to “deal with users in accordance with Vietnamese law” when requested by authorities to remove content from their platforms.
The guidelines encourages social media users to create accounts using their real identities, share information from official sources, and avoid posting content that violates the law, contains bad language or advertises illegal services.
In January, Vietnamese social media users used fake weather reports and soccer scores as a creative means to discuss party leadership wrangling after an official ban on speculation ahead of a party congress.
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