HANOI: Vietnam’s government is seeking to increase scrutiny of livestream content on social media such as Facebook and Google, in its latest move to rein in online activities it deems to be anti-state.
In a draft decree by the information and communications ministry, cross-border social media platforms operating in Vietnam must provide contact information of account operators with more than 10,000 followers or subscribers.
While the decree covers domestic social media operators such as Zalo, a home-grown social provider, most livestream videos are hosted on foreign platforms.
The ministry estimates the top 10 Vietnamese social media platforms have about 80 million users combined, while foreign competitors are dominant, with Facebook’s 65 million users, YouTube’s 60 million users and TikTok’s 20 million.
“These platforms have not fully abided by Vietnamese laws,” the ministry said.
“A lot of content posted there is disinformation, causing instability and frustration in the society and inequality between domestic and foreign companies.”
Facebook and TikTok had no immediate comment when contacted by Reuters, while Google did not immediately respond.
The ministry said people were increasingly using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok to deliver their own news or provide false information.
The draft, which has yet to be approved, requires social media providers to block or remove flagged content within 24 hours upon “justified” requests by Vietnamese individuals and affected organizations.
Reuters reported last week social media “influencers” were more likely to be soldiers than celebrities, known as Force 47 and tasked with setting up, moderating and posting on pro-state Facebook groups, to correct “wrong views” online.
Vietnam has seen a major tightening of online content, with ramped up censorship of posts, culls on accounts spreading “wrong views” and frequent criticism by regulators of some global firms.
Its 2018 cybersecurity law requires foreign companies to set up local offices and store data in Vietnam. Facebook has said it does not store user data in the country.
Vietnam to tighten grip on social media livestream activity
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Vietnam to tighten grip on social media livestream activity

- Vietnam aims to tighten grip on livestreaming on social media such as Facebook and Google in latest step to curb anti-state online activities
- The ministry said people were increasingly using social media platforms to deliver their own news or provide false information
Pregnant Palestinian journalist killed in Israeli strike

- Walaa Al-Jaabari was killed along with her husband, 4 children and unborn child during a bombing on her house in southwest Gaza City
- According to local reports not independently verifiable, the explosion was so powerful it reportedly ejected the fetus from her womb
LONDON: Palestinian journalist Walaa Al-Jaabari, who was reportedly pregnant, was killed along with her immediate family in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday.
Al-Jaabari, a newspaper editor for several local media outlets, died when her home in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood in southwest Gaza City was bombed. The strike also killed her husband, Amjad Al-Shaer, their four children, and her unborn baby.
According to local reports, the explosion was so powerful it reportedly ejected the fetus from her womb. Arab News could not independently verify this claim or the authenticity of photos circulating online that appear to show a fetus wrapped in a shroud.
Her death is the latest in what human rights and press freedom organizations have described as the systematic targeting of journalists in Gaza.
On Wednesday, the International Federation of Journalists renewed its call for Israel to stop killing media workers and to allow international reporters access to the territory, which has been under an Israeli-imposed blockade for 21 months.
More than 180 journalists — almost all Palestinians — have been killed in Gaza since the start of the Israeli offensive, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Other organizations estimate the toll to be as high as 231.
In at least a dozen cases, rights groups say there is evidence that Israeli forces deliberately targeted journalists, which they warn may constitute war crimes.
No independent reporters have been permitted entry into Gaza throughout the war, apart from a handful of tightly controlled, brief “embed” visits with Israeli troops.
Israeli authorities have repeatedly refused to lift the ban, citing security concerns and the risks of allowing journalists to operate freely in the conflict zone.
The blockade has placed immense pressure on local reporters, who face extreme working conditions, including limited access to electricity, food, and Internet connectivity.
On Thursday, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC issued a joint statement urging Israel to allow journalists access to Gaza and permit the entry of humanitarian supplies.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” the statement said. “For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”
Gaza staff face starvation: Joint statement from AFP, AP, BBC, Reuters

- Statement calls on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza, permit adequate food supplies into territory
- Over 100 charity and human rights groups say Israel’s blockade pushing Palestinians in Gaza toward starvation
Four leading news organizations said Thursday their journalists in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation as the Israeli assault on Gaza grinds on, while top US envoy Steve Witkoff was to meet with key negotiators from the Middle East for talks on the latest ceasefire proposal and the release of hostages.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” said a joint statement by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC. “For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”
The statement called on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza and allow adequate food supplies into the territory.
The statement came a day after more than 100 charity and human rights groups said that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation.
Also Thursday, Hamas confirmed it had sent its latest ceasefire proposal to Israel, with an Israeli official calling it “workable,” although no details were provided. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on record.
Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Major media say Gaza staff face starvation as US envoy prepares to host ceasefire talks

- Four leading news organizations said Thursday their journalists in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation as the Israeli assault on Gaza grinds on
Four leading news organizations said Thursday their journalists in Gaza are facing the threat of starvation as the Israeli assault on Gaza grinds on, while top US envoy Steve Witkoff was to meet with key negotiators from the Middle East for talks on the latest ceasefire proposal and the release of hostages.
“We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families,” said a joint statement by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and the BBC. “For many months, these independent journalists have been the world’s eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering.”
The statement called on Israel to allow journalists in and out of Gaza and allow adequate food supplies into the territory.
The statement came a day after more than 100 charity and human rights groups said that Israel’s blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip toward starvation.
Also Thursday, Hamas confirmed it had sent its latest ceasefire proposal to Israel, with an Israeli official calling it “workable,” although no details were provided. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on record.
Israel’s war in Gaza, launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, has killed more than 59,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Its count doesn’t distinguish between militants and civilians, but the ministry says that more than half of the dead are women and children.
Magazine editor criticizes arrest of protester holding cartoon satirizing Palestine Action ban

- Retired teacher, 67, held under terrorism laws
LONDON: Ian Hislop, the editor of the UK’s satirical magazine Private Eye, has condemned the arrest of 67‑year‑old protester Jon Farley, who was detained under terrorism laws for displaying a cartoon that joked about the government’s proscription of Palestine Action.
Farley, a retired teacher, was held under Section 12 of the Terrorism Act after holding a placard displaying the cartoon from Private Eye at a silent Gaza demonstration in Leeds.
Hislop slammed the arrest as “mind boggling” and a “blatant misunderstanding of satire,” noting that the cartoon was “an example of freedom of speech” against a government policy, according to a report by The Guardian.
Hislop added: “So, it’s not difficult to understand. It’s critical, but it is quite clearly a joke. (It) seems to me absolutely extraordinary that someone could be arrested for holding it (the cartoon) up.”
Farley, a regular demonstrator, said he took the cartoon to a protest in Leeds after hearing that 32 Palestinians seeking aid had been killed by Israeli forces that day.
“I saw it in Private Eye and thought, ‘That’s really well thought-out — it has nuance.’ But I don’t think the police do nuance,” he told The Guardian, referring to the cartoon styled as a mock guide titled “Palestine Action Explained”, which contrasts UK’s harsh response to protest actions with its tolerance of deadly force against Palestinians.
Farley added that officers handcuffed him and escorted him into a police van before he could explain the placard’s satirical origin.
He was released six hours later without charge but under bail conditions barring him from rallies supporting Palestine Action, a group that the UK government classified as a terrorist group after it broke into a military base and vandalized military aircraft.
Farley is among dozens who have been arrested since the ban for holding placards purportedly supporting the group.
The retired teacher called for an apology and expressed concern over the “murky lack of clarity” in the police’s actions.
West Yorkshire Police said it would review the incident, and acknowledged confusion following Palestine Action’s designation as a proscribed organization earlier this month.
Italian celebrity chef questioned by antiterrorism unit over anti-Israel posts

- Gabriele Rubini, known as chef Rubio, was briefly detained and interrogated last week by authorities on charges of inciting racial hatred
- An outspoken critic of Israel and strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Rubio has long been prosecuted for his activism
LONDON: Italian celebrity chef Rubio, born Gabriele Rubini, has been questioned by Italy’s antiterrorism police and had his electronic devices seized over a series of social media posts critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza.
A vocal pro-Palestine activist, Rubio was briefly detained and interrogated last week by Digos — Italy’s antiterrorism division — on charges of inciting racial hatred, according to his friend and journalist Alberto Fazolo, who shared details of the case on Monday.
Fazolo said Rubio’s X account posts triggered the investigation, describing it as a “blitz” aimed at obtaining data from his online activity, an operation usually carried out by a different police unit.
“Death to diplomats complicit in the genocide that has been ongoing for 77 years, death to colonialism, supremacism, racism, and anti-Muslim hatred. Death therefore to Zionism and the Jewish colony. Long live Palestine and the native Palestinian Semites,” one of them read.
Fazolo said Rubio remains free but has lost access to his social media accounts and private messages during the investigation.
Authorities are reportedly reviewing his Telegram and Signal chats as part of the probe. His accounts remain publicly visible, but he is unable to use them.
“Gabriele is free, he is keen to assure you that he is well,” Fazolo said. “But for a while he will not have the opportunity to communicate through his channels or contact details.”
Rubio has long been a controversial figure in Italy due to his outspoken criticism of Israeli policy and strong support for the Palestinian cause. Pro-Israeli groups have previously accused him of antisemitism, which Rubio denies.
Earlier this year, he drew fresh backlash after urging his followers to submit war crimes complaints against Israeli Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian, who was visiting Rome at the time.
In May 2024, Rubio was violently assaulted outside his home by six unidentified attackers armed with bricks and hammers, an attack his supporters linked to his activism.
Fazolo said Rubio has “been persecuted for years” due to his efforts to raise awareness about what he calls the “ethnic cleansing of Palestine.”