Fanny Potkin and Phuong Nguyen

HANOI/SINGAPORE -Vietnam is drafting new rules that will require social media platforms to immediately remove any content they deem illegal, according to three persons with direct knowledge.

These planned changes to the law will make Vietnam (NASDAQ:) a 1 billion-dollar market for Facebook. They will also cement Vietnam’s status as one of the most strict regimes in the world for social media companies. This will help the ruling Communist Party strengthen its hand against “anti-state” activities.

People stated that the 24 hour timeframe to eliminate “illegal services and content” is not subject to grace periods. However, “illegal livestreams” should be stopped within three hours. The people said that companies who fail to comply with the deadlines may have their platforms removed from the country.

According to two people, and another source, social media companies were also told that content that threatens national security should be removed immediately.

Sources said that social media platforms have only a few days for requests from Vietnam’s government.

Five people confirmed that the amendments will be made public by Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister, next month. They are then expected to become effective from July.

Because of the sensitive nature and importance of the topic, the sources who spoke with Reuters to this article could not be identified.

Vietnam’s foreign ministry stated that the government is reviewing amendments to laws relating to online information.

In an email, it stated that Vietnam demands businesses to work with government officials in order to build a safe online environment and remove any content that is not legal or in violation of Vietnam’s national traditions.

Representatives of Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:) declined to comment. Alphabet Inc is responsible for YouTube and Google. Twitter Inc (NYSE: ) announced that they had not yet made any comment.

TikTok is now owned by China’s ByteDance. Nguyen Lam Thanh, a representative from Vietnam, told Reuters that TikTok will comply with all applicable laws. He also said TikTok would remove content which violates platform guidelines.

Although most countries do not have legislation requiring the deactivation of content from social media companies, Vietnam is taking this step amid increasingly harsh crackdowns that are being carried out in certain parts of the globe regarding online content.

Sources tell Reuters that the Indonesian government also plans to impose a 24-hour limit on government requests.

India expects government requests to be answered within 36 hours.

MAJOR MARKET

Vietnam has a population over 98 million and is one of the top 10 Facebook markets by number of users with 60 to 70 million on Facebook, according 2021 company data.

According to people familiar with the matter, this country is worth around $1 billion annually in Facebook revenue and more lucrative than other European markets.

YouTube boasts 60 million Vietnamese users, while TikTok is home to 20 million. According to estimates from 2021 government officials, TikTok also has 20 million. Although Twitter is popular, most Vietnamese view it more as an English-language forum.

The market presents ethical dilemmas. Vietnam’s Communist Party is tolerant of criticism. The country’s courts have sentenced activists and dissidents to long prison terms for comments they made about the government through Facebook or YouTube.

The government’s efforts to control online content has only increased. In June 2018, a cybersecurity law was adopted. It was then followed by guidelines for social media behavior in June 2018.

Facebook will significantly raise the censorship level of anti-state posts. This was after traffic from Vietnam to its platform was slowed, according to company sources.

Facebook responded to the government’s request for “restrictions on access to content that it considers illegal” at the time.

It is difficult to implement

According to sources, these planned changes result from dissatisfaction over the government’s current takedown rates for requests.

Data from Vietnam’s communication ministry shows that Facebook fulfilled 90% of government take-down requests during the first quarter 2022. Alphabet was able to comply with 93%, while TikTok was able to comply with 73%.

Sources said that in addition to taking down illegal content, the government also wants social media companies to modify algorithms so they can limit sexually suggestive content and gambling, as well as the sale and distribution of unregulated supplements and medicines.

According to them, the government also wants to delete celebrity accounts that it suspects are using their influence for unsuitable products or defamation of others, and to promote fraudulent charitable causes.

Sources said that social media companies will find it difficult to comply with 24 hour takedown requests.

These employees noted that although they can quickly handle obvious violations of company policies like extreme violence depiction, it is difficult for other requests to be assessed and qualified personnel.