Vietnam requires social media platforms enforce age, identity checks

Vietnam’s ruling Party has issued a directive mandating identity authentication for all social media users.

Signed on January 28 by Tran Cam Tu, Standing Member of the Party Central Secretariat, Directive No. 57 outlines measures to tighten data protection and information security across the country’s political system, reports Vietnam Net.

The directive requires social media platforms to enforce identity checks, eliminate anonymous accounts and fake IDs, and introduce age‑restriction mechanisms to protect minors. Telecom subscribers, domain owners and digital asset holders will also be subject to authentication.

Officials claim the move responds to increasingly complex cyber threats and the growing strategic importance of data and artificial intelligence.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security will lead implementation, with the armed forces and cryptographic agencies in support under the sweeping Cybersecurity Law passed in December. That legislation, which takes effect July 1 2026, significantly expands central control over digital identity, data and online content.

The directive also calls for investment in quantum‑resistant encryption, secure chips manufactured domestically, and a layered national cybersecurity architecture to protect government, party and enterprise systems.

It promotes the development of a homegrown cybersecurity industry and proposes a regional training center for cybercrime prevention. Leaders at all levels of government will also be held directly accountable for cybersecurity performance, which will now factor into annual evaluations.

In other news, Project 06 is driving Vietnam’s digital transformation and a draft regulation is in circulation that would require continuous biometric verification of mobile subscribers.

Article Topics

age verification  |  cybersecurity  |  identity verification  |  social media  |  Vietnam