Vietnam is working on new rules to limit news content on social media accounts. The new rules will limit the accounts that can share news, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“The government wants to fix what it sees as the ‘news-lisation’ of social media,” a source told Reuters. ‘News-lisation,” also called báo hoá in Vietnam, is a term used by the government to describe misleading social media users into believing that a social media account is an authorized news outlet.
According to the sources, the government has been holding private meetings with internet companies and platforms to discuss the accounts that will be allowed to post news content. Under the new rules, the government would have the authority to order social media companies to ban accounts that violate the rules.
The rules on news content, and other social media rules, are expected to be introduced later this year or early next year.
Vietnam is among the countries with the strictest internet and social media rules. The government has made many efforts to control the flow of news from unauthorized sources.
In July, the Vietnamese government introduced non-binding guidelines defining a news outlet, because social media platforms allow accounts that mislead users into thinking they are authorized news sources. The guidelines will be included in the new rules, becoming binding.
In August, the government introduced a regulation that will require tech companies to have offices in the country and store user data locally. The regulation will take effect in October.
