Representatives of Facebook met with Vietnamese authorities this week to explore preventive measures regarding alleged false information on the social networking site.
A delegation of Facebook employees recently visited Hanoi to discuss means of stopping the spread of what the central government has called fake news and toxic content at the request of Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications, reports Tuoi Tre.
During the meeting Facebook pledged to cooperate with Vietnam to curate a healthy cyberspace for its citizens. This includes setting up a prioritized communication channel with the ministry, banning fake accounts of government officials and removing what authorities consider blasphemous texts.
“The government of Vietnam does not hinder the development of Facebook or any other social networks, so long as they follow the Vietnamese law and international practices,” minister Truong Minh Tuan emphasized, according to the news source.
According to Tuan, Vietnam now has about 45 million Facebook users. The minister also recognized the prevalence of Facebook as a communication platform for local businesses.
However, he added that the social network becomes problematic if users abuse the site to spread offensive information. “This may be difficult but it will eventually be resolved with goodwill and enthusiastic cooperation from Facebook,” Tuan said after the meeting.
Vietnam’s government has also been working with Google to remove and block content that violates local laws on YouTube, according to VietnamNet.
[Photo via Reuters]
