TikTok must censor ‘toxic’ content or face a ban: regulator

TikTok will be prohibited in Vietnam if it continues to be uncooperative with the government, while other cross-border social media platforms like YouTube and Facebook must observe Vietnamese laws, regulators said.

“Not just TikTok, other cross-border platforms will be banned if they are not cooperative,” Le Quang Tu Do, head of the country’s Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), told a Saturday conference.

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) will be strict when handling violations to ensure a clean cyberspace environment, according to him.

The meeting took place one week after Vietnamese regulators made a probe into TikTok, targeting “toxic” content. The meeting was joined by multi-channel networks (MCNs), media firms, and those called key opinion leaders (KOLs).

The number of TikTok users in Vietnam has increased to 50 million, according to international consultancy DataReportal.

ABEI, at the conference, conveyed firm messages about regulatory management over the content on cross-border social networks like Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.

Do, the ABEI chief, said that after the inspection led by his agency into TikTok, Facebook and YouTube representatives asked the state agency about Vietnamese regulators’ stance.

“The answer will depend on the cooperative attitude of the platforms, together with MCNs, media firms, and KOLs,” Do said. If they are uncooperative, regulators will treat social networks as a dangerous environment with negative impacts on residents and will apply measures to restrict the operations of the platforms.

“Our message is cyberspace is real life and people in cyberspace have to take responsibility for their activities there. If cross-border platforms are uncooperative, they won’t be allowed to operate in Vietnam,” he said.

ABEI is working with manufacturers of smart TVs in Vietnam like Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL, and Casper, requesting them not to install apps that violate Vietnamese law. If YouTube does not block fake and toxic content, the YouTube button on the TV remote will be deactivated.

Regarding punishments against the platforms, Do noted that regulators would impose separate fines on separate violations instead of a total sum for all. This means if the same violation is repeated 10 times, there will be 10 fines instead of one.

In some cases, Vietnamese celebrities have made false advertisements on YouTube and they have been fined a maximum of VND50 million (around $2,130) each, but the sum was nothing compared with the huge profit they could get from their advertisement activities. Therefore, they would rather pay the fines than stop the ads. However, Do said the MIC has other ways of sanctioning, such as celebrities will not get a chance to get access to the public.

Nguyen Thanh Lam, MIC Deputy Minister, told the conference that Vietnam is one of a few countries across the world holding a record for violating ethics and laws to make money via cross-border social media platforms. Among these activities, some have livestreamed international football matches without getting copyrights and made money via advertised gambling through such livestreaming.

High-profile TikTokers already under fire in Vietnam include No O No, who was fined VND7.5 million ($320) by the government for violating “civil customs”. This TikToker had spoken to the elderly poor in a derogatory way while gifting them their favorite meals.