Social media use requires ID verification in Nepal and Vietnam

While countries undergo digital transformation, which can include constructing a digital identity system or creating a national digital platform, somewhere along the line questions around data and privacy inevitably, and justifiably, arise. For they are vitally important issues.

In Nepal the recent tabling of the Social Media Regulation Bill in the country’s parliament has sparked debate over digital rights. On the one hand the Nepali government argues the bills are necessary to tackle misinformation, cybercrime and threats to national security — but the bills have also caused concern over free speech, privacy and the right to anonymity.

A columnist in The Annapurna Express writes on the Social Media Bill which proposes mandatory identity verification for users on social media and digital platforms. Section 27(2) states that operating a fake or anonymous account to spread misinformation could result in three months imprisonment or a fine of up to NPR 50,000 ($358). The proposal would mean the end of online anonymity on the aforementioned platforms as individuals would be compelled to disclose their personal details, the op-ed argues.

In addition, Section 27(3) of the bill raises the punishment to five years in prison and NPR 1.5 million ($10,758) in fines if the account is considered to harm national sovereignty, unity or public harmony. However, ambiguous language in such proposals, such as “threats to public order”, can provide cover for governmental overreach leading to erosion of individual protections and creating a climate of self-censorship, the writer claims.

“The bill requires revisions to ensure that security measures are balanced with privacy rights, transparency, and accountability,” Pratikshya Aganja, from the Kathmandu School of Law, writes. “Instead of compulsory identity disclosures, the government should focus on data protection laws, encryption rights, and judicial oversight to prevent the misuse of cyber laws for political or authoritarian control.”

Vietnam imposes stricter regulations for online services

Vietnam’s Decree No. 147/2024/ND-CP on the management, provision, and use of internet services and online information (Decree 147) came into effect on December 25, 2024. The new regulations create a more stringent digital landscape in the Southeast Asian country, with stricter controls around content control, user authentication, data storage, service licence and notification.

Social network users’ accounts must be authenticated via users’ Vietnamese mobile phone numbers or ID numbers if they do not have Vietnamese mobile phone numbers to post or share content.

Notable requirements include a cross-border information provision. Offshore providers of services who lease data storage in Vietnam, or meet a threshold of 100,000 or more total visits per month from Vietnam for six consecutive months, must store personal data of users from Vietnam, such as full name, date of birth, email and Vietnamese mobile phone number (or ID number) and delete this data when the storage period expires.

What may be of concern is that these offshore providers are mandated to provide information of users from Vietnam to the “relevant authority” upon request for investigation and for law enforcement purposes.

As for online game services, these providers must have at least one server in Vietnam to serve the purposes of investigations by the relevant authority and handling of user complaints. Providers are also expected to establish a system to connect to the country’s population database to verify player information upon request by the relevant authority.

For more information, Tilleke and Gibbins has a closer look at Vietnam’s Decree 147 here.

The concept of requiring identity verification for social media posts has also gained traction outside of the region, with Spain’s Prime Minister recently suggesting it as a way to address both the toxicity of the platforms and the plague of bots.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  identity verification  |  Nepal  |  social media  |  Vietnam