Vietnam cracks down on Telegram and orders nationwide block, leaked document reveals

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 21st 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 2nd.

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, fraud, 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 violates 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.