The Ministry of Technology of Vietnam has instructed telecommunications providers to block the Telegram messenger for refusing to cooperate in the fight against alleged crimes. The request was made according to a government document. The document is dated May 21. This is reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.
Details
The Ministry of Technology of Vietnam has appealed to telecommunications providers with a request to "implement solutions and measures to prevent Telegram's activities in Vietnam." According to the directive, the deputy head of the telecommunications department of the Ministry of Technology demands that telecommunications companies take measures to block Telegram and inform the ministry about them by June 2.
The document states that the ministry acted on behalf of the country's cybersecurity department after the police reported that 68% of the 9,600 Telegram channels and groups in the country violated the law, citing fraud, drug trafficking and "cases, suspicions of connection with terrorism", among the illegal activities carried out through the application.
An official of the Ministry of Technology confirmed the authenticity of the document, noting that this step comes after Telegram did not share user data with the government when it was requested as part of a criminal investigation.
The document also states that, according to the police, "many groups with tens of thousands of participants have been created by opposition and reactionary entities, which distributed anti-government documents."
According to the document, Telegram is accused of non-compliance with Vietnamese laws, which require social networks to monitor, remove and block information that violates the law.
Additionally
Vietnamese police and state news agencies have repeatedly warned people about possible crimes, fraud and data leaks in Telegram channels and groups.
The app was still available to users in Vietnam on Friday, May 23.
Reminder
Recently, the founder of Telegram refused the French special services, who asked to block conservative voices in Romania on the eve of the elections.