Vietnam orders messaging app Telegram to be blocked, government document shows
HighlightsVietnam's Ministry of Information and Communications has ordered telecommunication service providers to block the messaging application Telegram due to its non-compliance in addressing crimes committed by its users. A government document revealed that 68% of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in Vietnam have been reported for illegal activities, including fraud, drug trafficking, and potential terrorism-related cases. The Vietnamese authorities have expressed concerns over Telegram's failure to share user data during criminal investigations, prompting the ministry to seek measures to prevent its activities in the country.
Vietnam's technology ministry has instructed telecommunication service providers to block the messaging app
Telegram
for not cooperating in combating alleged crimes committed by its users, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
The document, dated May 21 and signed by the deputy head of the telecom department at the technology ministry, ordered telecommunication companies to take measures to block Telegram and report on them to the ministry by June 2.
The ministry asked telecommunication service providers "to deploy solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam".
The document said the ministry was acting on behalf of the country's cyber-security department after police reported that 68% of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in the country violated the law, citing fraud, drug trafficking and "cases suspected of being related to terrorism" among the illegal activities carried out through the app.
A technology ministry official confirmed to Reuters the authenticity of the document, noting the move follows Telegram's failure to share user data with the government when asked as part of criminal investigations.
Telegram and Vietnam's technology ministry did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The Vietnamese police and state news outlets have repeatedly warned people of possible crime, frauds and data breaches on Telegram channels and groups.
Telegram, which competes globally with other social media apps such as Facebook's WhatsApp and WeChat, was still available in Vietnam on Friday.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party maintains tight media censorship and tolerates little dissent. The country has repeatedly asked companies like Facebook, Google's YouTube and TikTok to coordinate with authorities to stamp out content deemed "toxic", including offensive, false and anti-state content.
Telegram is accused of not applying laws that require social media to monitor, remove and block information that violate the law, according to the document.
Also, the document said that according to information from the police, "many groups with tens of thousands of participants were created by opposition and reactionary subjects spreading anti-government documents".
The free-to-use platform with close to one billion users worldwide has been involved in controversies across the world on security and data breach concerns, including in France where its founder Pavel Durov was briefly detained last year.
France's President Emmanuel Macron is set to visit Vietnam from Sunday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
18 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Assam Pushed Back Over 330 Illegal Infiltrators": Himanta Sarma
Guwahati (Assam): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the state government was responsible for "pushing back" over 330 illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators in the last few months and intends to speed up the process. Referring to the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950, Mr Sarma said that the attempt to filter out the illegal infiltrators would continue with the help of a special provision (of the Immigrants Act of 1950) that empowers district commissioners to identify and expel them. "In our vigorous fight against illegal infiltration, we draw strength from a special provision, which empowers DCs to identify and expel infiltrators from Assam. We have pushed back over 330 illegal infiltrators in the last few months, and this operation will be expedited in the coming days," Mr Sarma said while addressing a one-day special session of the Assam Assembly. In a veiled attack against Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi, CM Sarma said that the state government has identified 2,600 accounts on social media that write about "Palestine and Assam", operating from Islamabad and Riyadh, and welcome a particular leader from the state. He said that he would reveal information regarding such accounts to the press in the coming days. "We have found around 2,600 Facebook accounts that write only about Palestine and Assam. They are operated from Islamabad, Riyadh and Saudi Arabia. They don't even welcome Rahul Gandhi, but welcome a particular leader of Assam. I have documents, and within 10-12 days, I will provide some such account information to the press," he said. Moreover, Mr Sarma asserted that his identity as an Assamese comes before his post as the Chief Minister. "I am an Assamese first and Chief Minister later, and all my actions will reflect that. In our journey of safeguarding the interests of Assam, we do not dither in taking inspiration from former CMs," he said. The Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act of 1950 empowers the government to expel illegal immigrants from Assam, specifying procedures to identify and expel them. The act gives the power to order the expulsion of immigrants whose stay in Assam is "detrimental to the interests of the general public."
Mint
28 minutes ago
- Mint
Sean Diddy Combs ex testifies he kicked, dragged her in attack last year
Testifying under pseudonym, Jane testifies he coerced her into sexual acts She describes altercation after confronting Combs about another relationship Testimony enters fifth week with defense to cross-examine on Tuesday Combs' lawyers claim women participated consensually in 'Freak Offs' (New throughout with details from trial testimony; note language in paragraph 4 some readers may find offensive) NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - An ex-girlfriend of Sean "Diddy" Combs testified on Monday that he kicked, punched and dragged her last June, about a month after the hip-hop mogul apologized for a video that surfaced of Combs attacking another girlfriend eight years earlier. The alleged attack on the woman, testifying under the pseudonym Jane to protect her privacy, occurred three months before Combs was indicted on racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking charges. He has pleaded not guilty. Jane said that after the attack in the backyard of her Los Angeles home on June 18, 2024, Combs contacted a male entertainer named Anton, gave her an ecstasy pill, and told her to perform oral sex on Anton while Combs watched - even though she had told him she did not want to. Jane said Combs told her, "You're not going to ruin my fucking night," and then got close to her face and said, "Is this coercion?" Jane's testimony could bolster prosecutors' contention that Combs, 55, for two decades coerced women to take part in the sexual performances, sometimes known as "Freak Offs," against their will. Lawyers for Combs, founder of Bad Boy Records, have acknowledged he was occasionally abusive in domestic relationships, but say the women who took part in Freak Offs did so consensually. On May 19, 2024, Combs apologized on social media after CNN broadcast a hotel surveillance video from 2016 in which Combs appeared to attack the rhythm and blues singer Casandra Ventura, another ex-girlfriend. The video was shown in court. In November 2023, Ventura sued Combs for allegedly forcing her to take part in Freak Offs over the course of a decade-long relationship that started around 2008. Combs denied wrongdoing, and he settled with her two days later for $20 million. Jane said she told Combs several times that she did not want to have sex with other men anymore. Jurors saw an October 20, 2023, text message in which she told him, "I felt violated and manipulated by you." But the encounters continued after that, as did Combs' financial support for Jane, according to her testimony. Jane said the June 2024 altercation occurred after she confronted him about his relationship with another woman. Jane said she shoved Combs' head into a kitchen counter and threw candles and glass at him. He eventually attacked her in the backyard while she was lying on the ground curled into a ball, she said. Combs' defense lawyers are due to begin cross-examining Jane on Tuesday. Testimony is in its fifth week. Combs could face life in prison if convicted on all counts. Also known throughout his career as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, Combs turned artists like Notorious B.I.G. and Usher into stars, elevating hip-hop in American culture and becoming a billionaire in the process. (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Howard Goller)
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Did Trump invoke the Insurrection Act in Los Angeles amid protests? What Marines' mobilization means
After President Donald Trump reportedly deployed about 700 Marines to Los Angeles amid protests on Monday, claims about the Insurrection Act being invoked surfaced on social media. Marines being mobilized in California marks another escalation in Trump's response to anti-ICE street protests over his aggressive immigration policies. A US official told Reuters and AP that a Marine battalion would be sent on temporary duty until more National Guard troops could reach the scene. Marines have previously only been deployed domestically for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Trump administration has yet to confirm the nature of the latest deployment. Read More: Los Angeles protests: California governor Newsom to sue Trump admin over National Guard deployment According to Reuters, the Trump administration is not invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement. The official added that the situation was fluid and could change. The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a US federal law that empowers the president to deploy military forces domestically to suppress insurrections, rebellions, or domestic violence that hinder law enforcement or obstruct federal authority. The president can deploy active-duty military or federalized National Guard to: Suppress an insurrection against a state, upon the governor's request. Restore order when a rebellion obstructs federal law execution. Protect civil rights or quell domestic violence if state authorities fail to do so. Read More: Los Angeles protests: 'Incendiary devices' hurled at police horses, says LAPD The president has broad authority to determine when conditions warrant deployment, requiring only a proclamation to disperse. No congressional approval is needed, though the Posse Comitatus Act (1878) generally limits military law enforcement roles unless authorized. The Act was invoked in 1808 against a Lake Champlain smuggling ring and in 1832 during South Carolina's Nullification Crisis. Presidents Eisenhower (1957, Little Rock) and Kennedy (1962–63, Mississippi and Alabama) used it to enforce desegregation against state resistance.
