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Vietnam Threatens to Shut Down Facebook Over Content: Reuters

“Over the past few months, we’ve faced additional pressure from the government to restrict more content,” Facebook said.

Vietnam Threatens to Shut Down Facebook Over Content: Reuters
Facebook Inc. signage is displayed on a smartphone in New York, U.S. (Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg)

Vietnam’s government has threatened to shut down Facebook Inc. in the country because it has failed to block more political content on its website, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified senior company official.

Facebook agreed to step up censorship of anti-government posts in April, the official said, according to Reuters. The government in August made another request for the company to block content critical of the state, it said.

“Over the past few months, we’ve faced additional pressure from the government to restrict more content,” Facebook said in an email statement. “However, we will do everything we can to ensure that our services remain available so people can continue to express themselves.”

Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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