Vietnamese cyber police report that nearly 70 per cent of Telegram groups and channels in the country contain harmful content. —AFP/VNA Photo

HÀ NỘI — Telecom and internet service providers in Việt Nam have been requested to block the messaging app Telegram using technical measures, the Việt Nam Telecommunications Authority (VNTA) have announced.

The VNTA said that it has received an official document from the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (also known as A05, under the Ministry of Public Security) regarding Telegram operations in Việt Nam. 

Up to 68 per cent of 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in Việt Nam contain harmful content, according to A05.

The police agency also said that many of these groups, with tens of thousands of participants, were created by reactionary or anti-government forces to distribute subversive documents. Scams, illegal sales of user data and drugs and suspected terrorism cases have been reported.

Under Decree No 147/2024/NĐ-CP on the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information, cross-border service providers like Telegram must comply with Vietnamese laws when offering services in Việt Nam. 

They are required to submit contact information to the authorities and must monitor, remove, and block illegal content, services and applications as required by provisions in the Law on Cybersecurity, upon request by relevant authorities.

The decree stated that if a foreign service provider violates Vietnamese laws, and refuses to cooperate with authorities in addressing such violations, Vietnamese authorities may implement technical measures to “prevent the misuse of the Internet to threaten national security, social safety and order, morality, and violate the laws,” and “protect children and adolescents from negative impacts of the Internet.”

The document issued by A05 also noted that “exploiting telecom services to carry out subversive acts or acts that threaten national security and social order is strictly prohibited under Article 9(1) of the Law on Telecommunications.”

In such cases, telecom and internet service providers are obligated to implement service-blocking measures as stipulated in Article 13(2)(đ) of the same law. 

Starting January 1, 2025, basic telecom service providers are also required to notify authorities before offering services. Telegram has not complied with this regulation, the police agency noted. 

Offering telecom services without proper authorisation is a prohibited act under Article 9(4) of the telecommunications law. In such cases, telecom enterprises are responsible to implement technical measures to block the services, as specified in Article 79(1)(c) of Decree No 163/2024/NĐ-CP. — VNS