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Facebook and YouTube are complicit in “industrial-scale censorship and repression” in Vietnam, according to an Amnesty International report that accuses the platforms of openly signaling that they are willing to give in to the wishes of authoritarian regimes.
Facebook executives have repeatedly promoted the platform as a bastion of “free speech,” but in Vietnam, where there is little tolerance for dissent, the company complied with hundreds of requests for content censorship earlier this year. This includes peaceful criticism of the state by activists, which is protected by international human rights law.
Vietnam is a lucrative market for both Facebook and Google, which owns YouTube. In 2018, Facebook’s revenue in the country was nearly $ 1 billion (£ 750 million), roughly a third of all revenue from Southeast Asia. Google made $ 475 million during the same period, thanks to YouTube advertising.
“Facebook is by far the most popular and profitable platform in Vietnam,” said Ming Yu Hah, Amnesty International’s deputy regional campaign manager., who added that companies have a responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate.
“Today these platforms have become hunting grounds for censors, military cyber-troops, and state-sponsored trolls. The platforms themselves are not simply allowing it to happen, they are increasingly complicit, “he added.
In the first half of 2020, Facebook met 834 content restrictions, according to its transparency report, a big increase from the previous six-month reporting period. According to Amnesty, the increase was due in part to the authorities’ efforts to silence any discussion of the Dong Tam territorial dispute, a high-profile showdown over the military’s decision to build an airfield on land claimed by villagers.
In April, Facebook agreed to significantly increase its compliance with content geoblocking requests, following pressure from the Vietnamese government, which said it had deliberately slowed traffic to the platform by disconnecting its local servers. Amnesty said the decision could have “far-reaching global consequences” as other repressive governments could adopt similar strategies.
In recent months, Facebook has also complied with requests from the Thai government, even blocking access within Thailand to a popular group criticizing the monarchy. The group, which had 1 million members, was removed after the Thai government threatened Facebook with legal action.
In a statement, Facebook said that in recent months it had faced additional pressure from Vietnam to restrict more content, but added: “We will do our best to ensure that our services remain available so that people can continue to express themselves.”
Despite major economic reform in Vietnam, the ruling Communist Party maintains strict control over the media and severely restricts the space for dissent and freedom of expression. The country ranks 175th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index.
Amnesty International said it had identified at least 170 prisoners of conscience, the highest number since the group began such surveillance in the country. Among them, 69 were jailed for posting content online.
Activists report bullying on social media and in real life. In addition to the threat of imprisonment, human rights defenders said they had been beaten by police and attacked by groups of unidentified assailants. Online, they face harassment from pro-government trolls, according to the report, which targets Vietnam’s Force 47, a 10,000-strong military unit, and “Du Luan Vien,” a volunteer group made up of Communist Party activists.
Facebook said: “Millions of people in Vietnam use our services every day to connect with family and friends and thousands of companies rely on them to reach customers. We do not always agree with governments on issues such as speech and expression, even in Vietnam, but we work hard to defend this right around the world. “
YouTube did not respond to a request for comment, but told Amnesty that it “assesses government requests to remove content against human rights standards.”
