Vietnam's technology ministry has ordered telecommunications service providers to ban the messaging app Telegram for failing to cooperate in the investigation of alleged crimes committed by its users, a move Telegram described as shocking.
In a document dated May 21 and signed by the deputy head of the telecom department at the technology ministry, telecommunications firms were asked to start steps to block Telegram and report back to the ministry by June 2.
In the document seen by Reuters, the ministry was acting on behalf of the nation's cybersecurity department after police revealed that 68% of Vietnam's 9,600 Telegram channels and groups were breaking the law. They cited drug trafficking, fraud, and "cases suspected of being related to terrorism" as some of the illicit activities conducted through the app.
According to the document, the ministry requested that telecom companies "deploy solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam.”
Following the release of the Reuters piece, the government announced the measures against Telegram on its website.
"Telegram is surprised by those statements. We have responded to legal requests from Vietnam on time. This morning, we received a formal notice from the Authority of Communications regarding a standard service notification procedure required under new telecom regulations. The deadline for the response is May 27, and we are processing the request," the Telegram representative noted.
According to a technology ministry official, the move was prompted by Telegram's failure to share customer information with the government when requested as part of criminal investigations.
The Vietnamese police and official media have regularly cautioned citizens about potential crimes, frauds, and data breaches on Telegram channels and groups. Telegram, which competes globally with major social networking apps such as Facebook's (META.O), WhatsApp and WeChat, remain available in Vietnam on Friday.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party maintains strict media censorship and tolerates minimal opposition. The country has regularly asked firms such as Facebook, Google (GOOGL.O), YouTube, and TikTok to work with authorities to remove "toxic" data, which includes offensive, misleading, and anti-state content.
According to the document, Telegram has been accused of failing to comply with regulations requiring social media platforms to monitor, remove, and restrict illegal content. "Many groups with tens of thousands of participants were created by opposition and reactionary subjects spreading anti-government documents" based on police information.
The free-to-use site, which has about 1 billion users globally, has been embroiled in scandals over security and data breaches, particularly in France, where its founder, Pavel Durov, was temporarily detained last year.
