Vietnam, a Southeast Asian nation with a inhabitants of over 100 million, goes to dam entry to Telegram for failing to cooperate with native authorities in addressing crimes dedicated on the messaging platform.
Block by Telecom Operators
A number of native media shops reported that the nation’s Telecom Division, underneath the Ministry of Science and Expertise, issued a doc dated 21 Might instructing telecommunications service suppliers to dam Telegram. They have to additionally report the implementation plan and outcomes to the ministry by 2 June.
“Telegram is shocked by these statements,” a consultant of the messaging platform advised Reuters.
In response to the doc, the ministry acted on behalf of the nation’s cybersecurity division. It said that the motion adopted stories from native police, who discovered that 68 per cent of Telegram channels in Vietnam violated native legal guidelines by being concerned in fraud, drug trafficking, and different unlawful actions.
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Vietnamese authorities additional revealed that greater than 13,000 victims had been defrauded of over VND1 trillion (US$38 million) by scams carried out on Telegram. As well as, the private knowledge of 23 million folks was reportedly offered illegally through the messaging app.
“We’ve got responded to authorized requests from Vietnam on time,” the Telegram consultant added. “This morning, we acquired a proper discover from the Authority of Communications concerning a regular service notification process required underneath new telecom rules. The deadline for the response is 27 Might, and we’re processing the request.”
Folks Are Shedding Cash on Telegram Scams
Earlier, FinanceMagnates.com reported on how clone scams are widespread on Telegram. A joint survey by FinanceMagnates.com and FXStreet additionally discovered that 60 per cent of monetary instrument merchants who fell sufferer to scams on Telegram misplaced cash. Though regulators in the UK and Cyprus are conscious of such scams on the platform, they admitted that stopping these actions is troublesome.
Below Vietnamese rules that got here into impact on 1 January, internet-based telecom service suppliers should report violations that happen on their platforms. Nonetheless, Vietnamese officers stated that the messaging platform big ignored a number of notices.
Final 12 months, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France over unlawful actions on his platform. He was later launched and was lastly allowed to depart France in March 2025.
Telegram has 1 billion month-to-month lively customers globally. Its encryption function is among the predominant causes for its reputation. Though the precise variety of Telegram customers in Vietnam is unknown, Statista reported 17.55 million downloads of the Telegram app in Vietnam in 2023.
This text was written by Arnab Shome at www.financemagnates.com.
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