VIETNAM LAUNCHES CODE OF CONDUCT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

Vietnam introduced national guidelines on social media behavior on Friday that 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 that violate the law and "affect the interests of the state" and applies to state organizations, social media companies, and all their users in Vietnam, Phuong Nguyen and James Pearson reported for Reuters.

"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 2020, 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.

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