HÀ NỘI — The popular messaging platform Telegram is facing a nationwide access ban in Việt Nam due to alleged widespread abuse of the app for unlawful activities.

The Authority of Telecommunications under the Ministry of Information and Communications has officially instructed domestic telecom providers to deploy technical measures to block the platform, following a formal request from the Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention (A05) under the Ministry of Public Security.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, Telegram has been extensively exploited for activities that threaten national security, social order and the rule of law in Việt Nam. Authorities report that as many as 68 per cent of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups active in the country have been classified as “toxic”.

Many of these are reportedly operated by reactionary elements who distribute anti-State propaganda, spread false information, conduct scams, sell personal data and are even suspected of links to terrorism and the illegal trafficking of narcotics.

The Authority of Telecommunications noted that Telegram has never fulfilled the mandatory procedure of registering its telecommunications services in Việt Nam, as required under the Law on Telecommunications and Decree No. 147/2024/NĐ-CP on the management, provision and use of Internet services and online information.

This constitutes a clear legal violation. Furthermore, the platform has failed to cooperate with Vietnamese regulators in addressing unlawful content, despite repeated warnings and formal requests from the authorities.

Citing current legal provisions, the Authority referred to Clause 1, Article 9 and Point đ, Clause 2, Article 13 of the Law on Telecommunications, emphasising that the use of telecom services to undermine national security is strictly prohibited. In cases like Telegram, domestic telecom providers are legally obligated to block access to the platform under Point c, Clause 1, Article 79 of Decree No. 163/2024/ND-CP.

Telecom companies have been ordered to report both their implementation plans and the results of these measures to the Authority of Telecommunications by June 2. — VNS