Minister of Information and Communications: 'The number of users of 1,000 Vietnamese social networks combined is equal to that of Facebook and TikTok.'

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung stated that Vietnam has currently licensed nearly 1,000 social networks, with the combined number of users equal to or higher than social networks like Facebook and TikTok.

Non-compliant social media platforms may be shut down.

On the morning of November 12th, during a question-and-answer session with Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung, delegate Tran Thi Thu Hang ( from Dak Nong province) raised concerns about misleading, even fraudulent, and illegal advertising, primarily on the internet and often associated with e-commerce.

Representative Tran Thi Thu Hang (Dak Nong delegation) questioned the Minister of Information and Communications.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Furthermore, cross-border advertising is rampant, harming the legitimate rights and interests of many individuals and organizations, and potentially jeopardizing national security, public order, and social safety.

Ms. Hang requested that Minister Nguyen Manh Hung provide information on organizational and implementation solutions for existing laws to address the aforementioned shortcomings and limitations.

Responding to the delegates, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung clearly stated that currently, whatever sectors and levels manage in the real world must also manage in cyberspace; there is no other way.

"When violations are discovered and need to be identified or stopped, the Ministry of Information and Communications has all the necessary tools to do so," Mr. Hung said.

According to the Minister of Information and Communications, cross-border platforms, even those without representatives in Vietnam, must comply with Vietnamese law when doing business in Vietnam. "If they do not comply, we have the capacity to halt all their operations," Minister Nguyen Manh Hung emphasized, affirming that "each entity must manage its own affairs for the cyberspace to be healthy."

Mr. Hung compared cross-border business platforms in Vietnam to a market. "As the market owner, you have to clean up the market, meaning you have to clean yourself up. For them to clean up on their own, the responsibility of relevant agencies, ministries, and sectors is to clearly define which advertisements violate regulations. Once clearly defined, the Ministry of Information and Communications will require these platforms to develop tools to scan and remove such advertisements themselves, and this is their responsibility," Mr. Hung explained.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung answers questions from delegates.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

The digital space is still a new concept for many people.

Delegate Nguyen Duy Thanh (from Ca Mau province) stated that the spread of fake news and misinformation on social media is causing disruption, creating negative consequences and public outrage, while also fiercely competing with mainstream media in terms of both information and revenue.

"Minister, in your role as a state administrator, what plans do you have for managing social media?", a representative questioned.

Responding to the delegates, the Minister of Information and Communications said that managing social media to combat fake news and misinformation is not only a Vietnamese issue but a global one. Regarding solutions, the first step is to improve the institutional framework.

Mr. Hung stated that previously, regulations only dealt with individuals using social media to spread false information or fake news. "In a new decree signed less than a week ago, we have addressed the issue of dealing with social media platforms when they violate the law," Mr. Hung informed.

Another solution, which we previously thought was primarily the responsibility of state management, actually involves a greater responsibility towards social foundations.

"They have their own space, their own subscribers, and it's not just a few people, but tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or billions of users. Therefore, they have a responsibility to scan, detect, and automatically remove false and harmful information," he said.

Furthermore, Mr. Hung argued that humans have lived in the real world for tens of thousands of years, yet many challenges remain. Therefore, the digital space, which is only 10-20 years old, is still new to many people, and adaptation requires time. Consequently, the head of the Ministry of Information and Communications believes that it is necessary to strengthen communication and education efforts to help people resist misinformation in the digital space and improve their skills in recognizing and preventing it.

Representative Nguyen Minh Tam (Quang Binh delegation) asked Minister Nguyen Manh Hung when the strategy for developing Vietnamese social networks would become a reality.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Vietnam licenses nearly 1,000 social media platforms.

Regarding social media, delegate Nguyen Minh Tam (Quang Binh delegation) recalled that when he was acting minister, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung stated that without a digital ecosystem, Vietnam's social media platforms would lack the negotiating power to deal with Google and Facebook. They would continue to disregard Vietnamese law, while we would not dare to cut off their services.

Considering this a major and very correct strategy to ensure independence from and competition with giants like Google, Facebook, and YouTube, and especially to ensure national cybersecurity, the Quang Binh delegation asked Minister Nguyen Manh Hung when this strategy would become a reality, solving the problem of limiting the influence of giants like Facebook and Google and allowing Vietnamese social networks to develop.

Responding to the delegates, Minister Nguyen Manh Hung acknowledged that when he was acting as Minister, he had said he lacked the necessary strength and found negotiations difficult. According to Mr. Hung, social media has two sides; one is very positive because people can exchange information and even conduct business on it.

"If we don't have an alternative social media platform, can we really ban it? If we have a comparable social media platform and the resources at our disposal, our influence in negotiations with foreign social media platforms will be better," he analyzed.

Regarding the development of social media in Vietnam, he stated that Vietnam has currently licensed nearly 1,000 social media platforms, including about 20 major ones.

"The combined number of users on Vietnamese social networks is now equivalent to or even higher than that of major social networks like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok… That's not even including the 38 other national digital platforms we've developed to serve various activities. If we include all 38 of these platforms that are already operational, the total number of users would be even larger," Mr. Hung said.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bo-truong-tt-tt-so-nguoi-dung-1000-mang-xa-hoi-viet-nam-cong-lai-bang-facebook-tiktok-185241112153359577.htm