Vietnam is considering draft rules that would limit how children under 16 use social media. Multiple outlets report that the proposal, set out in a draft government decree reviewed during public discussion, would not necessarily require minors to lose their accounts. Instead, it would bar them from posting content, commenting, sharing or reacting to posts, and in some descriptions from participating in live streams. The measures are aimed at improving online safety for minors amid broader global moves to tighten protections.
Under existing requirements cited by one outlet, social media accounts belonging to children under 16 in Vietnam are already registered using parents’ information. The draft would expand restrictions beyond registration, effectively limiting minors to viewing age-appropriate content while placing additional obligations on platforms. One report says platforms would need to identify accounts belonging to children, apply the highest available privacy settings by default, and block content involving categories such as violence, pornography, drugs, gambling and suicide. If adopted, the rules would align Vietnam with other jurisdictions that have implemented stricter limits for minors’ online participation, though the approach described is narrower than outright account bans.
