Vietnam bans highly used messaging app Telegram | Internet News

The Vietnamese government’s Ministry of Science and Technology has accused the messaging app Telegram of not cooperating in the efforts to combat alleged crimes committed by its users in the country. In response, the government has ordered telecommunication service providers to block Telegram’s activities in Vietnam. Telegram has expressed surprise at this decision and claims that it has been responding to legal requests from Vietnam in a timely manner. The Vietnamese government’s decision is reportedly based on the failure of Telegram to share user data with authorities as part of criminal investigations. It is estimated that there are 11.8 million Telegram users in Vietnam, which makes up around 70% of channels on the app in the country. The government claims that many of these channels contain “poisonous and bad information” and have been involved in “reactionary activities”. The move by the government is seen as another step in restricting freedom of expression in the communist-ruled country.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/24/vietnam-orders-ban-on-popular-messaging-app?traffic_source=rss