Tue Feb 18 12:06:38 UTC 2025: ## Vietnam’s New Decree Stifles Online Dissent, Tightens Government Control

**Bangkok, February 18, 2025** – Vietnam’s new Decree 147, implemented in December 2024, is dramatically increasing government control over social media and silencing dissent, according to a new report by The 88 Project, a human rights and free speech organization. The decree empowers authorities to monitor and censor online content with unprecedented ease.

The report details how Decree 147 compels social media companies like Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and TikTok to verify user accounts with government-provided information, store data within Vietnam, and swiftly remove content deemed illegal. Companies are also required to grant authorities access to their internal search engines for identifying “offending” content. Failure to comply is expected by late March.

“Any challenge to the government and the Communist Party… is perceived as a situation that is getting out of control,” stated Ben Swanton, a report author. He highlighted the existing chilling effect on free speech, exacerbated by previous imprisonment and exile of journalists and activists. Decree 147, he argues, will solidify this suppression.

Researchers have already observed a decline in political posts since the decree’s implementation. The government’s history of censoring critical content, including geo-blocking posts from outside the country and swiftly removing unacceptable material (like a video of a minister’s lavish meal during a COVID-19 lockdown), underscores the decree’s impact.

The decree also facilitates the targeting of individuals who merely consume such content. One instance cited involves police scrutinizing a Facebook group’s 13,328 members, leading to home visits and demands to leave the group.

With roughly two-thirds of Vietnam’s population using Facebook and half relying on social media for news, the implications of Decree 147 are significant. The 88 Project urges social media companies to resist provisions violating free expression rights and calls on the US and UN to pressure Vietnam to repeal the decree. Vietnamese authorities have yet to respond to requests for comment.

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