Vietnam\u2019s government has instructed telecommunications companies to block the Telegram messaging app after the Ministry of Public Security concluded it was being used to disseminate \u201canti-state\u201d contents, state media reported Friday.<\/p>\n
The Telecommunications Department under the Ministry of Science and Technology issued the order on Wednesday. Telecommunications service providers were instructed to take measures to block the app and report to the ministry by June 2, Vietnam News Agency said.<\/p>\n
If nothing changes, Telegram will become the first encrypted messaging app to be banned in Vietnam. Reuters reported that the app was still available inside Vietnam on Friday.<\/p>\n
The order originated from a Ministry of Public Security document that found that out of a total of 9,600 Telegram channels and groups existing in Vietnam, 68% were classified as \u201cbad and toxic.\u201d Among them, many groups and associations \u201cwith tens of thousands of participants\u201d had \u201cdisseminated anti-state contents\u201d. It cited fraud, drug trafficking and \u201ccases suspected of being related to terrorism\u201d among the illegal activities carried out through the app.<\/p>\n
The groups, according to the Ministry of Public Security, were established by \u201copposing and reactionary elements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vietnam\u2019s communist government has tightened controls on online information available inside the country. It has regularly blocked websites belonging to independent newspapers and foreign news outlets, including RFA Vietnamese. It has also pressured Facebook, the most widely used social network in Vietnam, to increase censorship of political content. <\/p>\n
The Telecommunications Department provided two legal grounds to justify the new ban on Telegram. <\/p>\n
It cited Article 9 of the Telecommunications Law, which prohibits \u201ctaking advantage of telecommunications activities to oppose the state\u201d and requires telecommunications service providers in Vietnam to register their operations. According to the Telecommunications Department, Telegram \u201cfailed to comply with the regulations.\u201d <\/p>\n
It also cited Decree 147 on Internet Services and Online Information which requires companies providing cross-border internet services to cooperate with the Vietnamese government in removing information deemed to violate the law. <\/p>\n
The Telecommunications Department did not say whether it had contacted Telegram to request the removal of channels and groups accused of spreading anti-state information, or what Telegram\u2019s response was. <\/p>\n
RFA contacted Telegram\u2019s press department on Friday for comment but has not yet received a response. <\/p>\n
Edited by Mat Pennington.<\/b><\/i><\/p>\n
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