Facebook group with millions of members in Vietnam 'disappears'

A series of Facebook groups were closed. Photo: Reuters

On the afternoon of June 24, domestic social network users were surprised when they could not access many Facebook groups with millions of members such as OFFB (1.5 million), Showbiz Secrets (1.2 million).... The incident was recorded in many groups in different fields, from buying and selling, entertainment to professional communities.

However, the specific reason for the disappearance of these groups is still unclear. Many hypotheses have been put forward for the collective disappearance of these groups, including the admin selling the group, Facebook changing its algorithm, violating copyright and community standards.

Facebook deleted the group, not allowing the administrator to appeal. Photo: MTP.

Mr. Mai Thanh Phu, an administrator of many Facebook groups and pages with many members, said he did not receive any warning from Facebook before they were deleted. “Usually, Facebook will notify in advance if the post violates the rules. If it continues many times, the group will be closed,” he shared. According to Mr. Phu, this time his groups were deleted without prior notice, nor was he allowed to appeal.

The reasons given by social media for closing groups are also unusual. Another admin said his group was closed for violating community guidelines from years ago. Meanwhile, some groups were closed for supporting, or identifying, “dangerous individuals or organizations.”

A group was closed for being "dangerous individuals and organizations". Photo: MTP.

Not only entertainment or professional groups, many classifieds groups and travel and food content groups are also affected similarly. One user said that sales activities were still going on normally and smoothly before being closed.

"The incident happened at the same time, dozens of customers texted me to find a solution when their Facebook groups were locked even though they did not violate anything. However, there is currently no solution," AN, a person specializing in social networking services, told Tri Thuc - ZNews.

The incident closely resembles a spate of Facebook group disappearances in 2020. Admins at the time also said they received no notification, or any clear reason, leaving the community in a similar state of confusion.

What is common in both incidents is the lack of transparency in the notification mechanism from Meta, as well as the lack of effective appeal support tools for admins and group members. Therefore, users should follow the updates from the platform, as well as check emails and group violations to find out the reason for Meta's move.

It is possible that this is a social network error or a mistaken scan. Previously, Facebook had repeatedly locked and then reopened a series of users in Vietnam.

Source: https://znews.vn/group-facebook-trieu-thanh-vien-tai-viet-nam-dong-loat-bay-mau-post1563412.html