Vietnamese texting and calling app Zalo is required to suspend its two domains for providing social media and networking services without permission. Thus, Vietnamese law is applicable to every entity and Zalo is no exception, Le Quang Tu Do, deputy director of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Agency under the Ministry of Information and Communication affirmed at the government’s regular press meeting on August 1.Earlier, Nguyen Duc Tho, chief inspector of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications, said on June 27 that he had sent a document ordering two domains, Zalo.vn and Zalo.me, to be suspended from July 19 until further notice.
Zalo is still active and accessible through smartphone application or web browser. Photo: Internet
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However, Duc Tho stressed that since Vietnam has no policies regarding the management of OTT apps and Zalo’s operation is similar to that of a social network, thus it needs respective authorization.
Currently, when users access the null and void zalo.vn, the domain is redirected to zalo.me.
According to the local media, revoking the '.me' domain is not simple, because it is an international domain. The domain '.me' is provided by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) via distributors. Legally, revoking this domain needs the cooperation of ICANN.
Vietnamese media questioned the Ministry of Public Security at the government’s regular meeting about the violations of Zalo.
In response, Lieutenant-General Luong Tam Quang from the Ministry of Public Security said that if Zalo operates in the Vietnamese territory, all of its activities in Vietnam must comply with the country’s law, no matter how much of its stake a foreign enterprise owns.
Deputy Director of Radio, Television and Electronic Information Agency Le Quang Tu Do said that the Ministry of Information and Communication is working with the Ministry of Public Security to detect violations over the internet and handle timely.
“We are also fighting aggressively for cross-border internet services to comply with the country’s laws. Domestic enterprises must, of course, abide by Vietnam’s regulations,” Do said.
He added that the Ministry of Information and Communication will strictly handle violations, but also create conditions for Vietnamese enterprises to develop because national technological enterprises are facing difficulties competing with foreign businesses. Therefore, the ministry gave Zalo a period of time to complete the procedures to apply for a license and so far Zalo has submitted application.
