The Vietnamese government has announced that TikTok’s operations in the country will be investigated beginning in May.
This is done to ensure that the video platform complies with content management, tax payments, and commercial policies.
According to Le Quang Tu Do, a ministry representative, the popular Chinese-owned application that carries bite-sized videos has recently allowed “toxic, offensive, false, and superstitious” content on its platform.
“TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are all cross-border social media with international standards. But when operating in Vietnam, the platform needs to abide by local regulations on both content and tax obligations,” Do stated.
The Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information informed the company in February that a government delegation would visit its Vietnam offices in the second quarter.
“This is an interdisciplinary inspection activity planned by the government and in line with Vietnam law for companies operating in Vietnam, not only TikTok,” TikTok Vietnam told Reuters.
According to company data, the platform removed 1.7 million videos at the request of the Vietnamese government in the fourth quarter of last year because they were deemed to be in violation of government policies.
According to a separate statement from the government, the app has nearly 50 million users in Vietnam aged 18 and up, citing data from the research firm DataReportal.
