Vietnam's new social media code of conduct

[Douglas Lucas]

Reuters 18 June 2021 By Phuong Nguyen, James Pearson. Dateline
Hanoi/Reuters.

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Vietnam introduced national guidelines on social media behaviour on
Friday which encourage people to post positive content about the
Southeast Asian country and require state employees to report
“conflicting information” to their superiors.

The code prohibits posts which violate the law and “affect the interests
of the state” and applies to state organisations, 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,”
reads the code, which was contained in a decision from the information
ministry and dated June 17.

It was not clear to what extent the decision was legally binding, or how
it would be enforced.

Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party tolerates little criticism, retains
tight control over media and has in recent years presided over an
intensified crackdown on dissidents and activists, some of whom are
serving lengthy jail terms for posts on Facebook and Google’s YouTube.

In November last year, Reuters exclusively 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 $1 billion,
according to sources familiar with the numbers.

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.

It encourages social media users to create accounts using their real
identities, share information from official sources, and avoid posting
content which violates the law, contains bad language, or advertises
illegal services.

In January, Vietnamese social media users used fake weather reports and
football scores as a creative means to discuss Communist Party
leadership wrangling after an official ban on speculation ahead of a
Party congress.

Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and James Pearson; Editing by Ed Davies
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Music video, just under 4 minutes ,for R.E.M.'s satirical song "Shiny
Happy People": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYOKMUTTDdA