Vietnam is set to order social media platforms to limit the access of children under 16 to social media, becoming the latest nation and the third in Southeast Asia to tighten online safety provisions for minors.
According to a draft amendment to a decree on internet management, the new rules would bar children under the age of 16 from posting, commenting, sharing, or reacting on social media, leaving them able only to view content, Vietnamese state media reported on Friday.
At a meeting to discuss the new rules the day prior, Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, deputy director of the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information, said that accounts belonging to under-16s would have to be registered using a parent’s or guardian’s information. That adult “would then be responsible for supervising the content the child sees and the time they spend on the platform,” the report stated.
“A child’s account, under the supervision of parents or guardians, can only view content. It cannot post, interact, comment, or share,” Huyen said.
At the same time, social media companies will also be tasked with identifying child users and ensure that they are exposed only to age-appropriate content, Reuters reported, citing copy of the draft amendment.
