Vietnam Draft Decree to Ban Under‑16 Social Media Interaction

Vietnam is preparing a draft decree that would stop users younger than 16 from posting content, commenting, or reacting on social‑media platforms. Child accounts must be registered with a parent’s or legal guardian’s details, making parents responsible for supervising the content and time spent online. Platforms would be required to identify child users, apply the highest privacy protections, and proactively block harmful material such as violence, pornography, gambling, drugs and self‑harm content.

The proposal also adds new limits on online gaming: children under 16 would be allowed only 60 minutes of play per day on games provided by a single operator, with mandatory age‑verification and parental registration. The decree is still under discussion and has not been finalised; regulators are seeking feedback from industry and civil society. Major tech firms, including Meta and TikTok, have warned that a blanket ban on interaction could impair safety‑system signals and cause implementation challenges. The draft reflects a wider global push, following similar measures in France, Australia and other countries, to protect minors from digital harms.