Telegram will be completely blocked in Vietnam
Vietnam's Ministry of Technology has instructed telecommunications providers to block Telegram. They must report on the measures taken by June 2.
Vietnam's Ministry of Technology has instructed telecommunications providers to block Telegram. They must report on the measures taken by June 2.
The ministry has asked telecommunications service providers to "deploy solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam," Reuters writes .
The May 21 document said the ministry was acting on behalf of the country's cybersecurity department after police reported that 68% of the country's 9,600 Telegram channels and groups had broken the law, with links to fraud, drug trafficking and "suspected terrorism-related incidents."
A technology ministry official confirmed the authenticity of the document to Reuters, noting that the move comes after Telegram failed to share user data with the government when asked as part of a criminal investigation.
Vietnamese police and state news agencies have repeatedly warned people about possible crimes, fraud, and data leaks in Telegram channels and groups.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party maintains strict censorship of the media. The country has repeatedly asked Facebook, YouTube and TikTok to coordinate with the authorities to remove "toxic" content, including offensive, false and anti-state content.
According to the document, Telegram is accused of failing to enforce laws that require social networks to monitor, remove, and block information that violates the law.
The document also states that, according to police information, "many groups with tens of thousands of members were created by opposition and reactionary entities that distributed anti-government documents."
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