Official calls for internal codes of conduct on social media use

The call was made by Nguyen Thanh Lam, Director of the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)’ Authority of Press.

Director of the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Authority of Press Nguyen Thanh Lam speaking at the event

Lam said Vietnam now has 850 print and online news agencies, 67 radio and television stations and thousands of news websites, with more than 20,000 licensed journalists. This does not include a large number of non-licensed reporters and tens of millions of social network accounts, including over 60 million Facebook users.

With a multimedia world today, nothing can be hidden, he said, adding that anyone can be a source of information with just a social network account and a smartphone. Any actions or behaviors of individuals and organisations can be seen via posts, comments, photos and live videos on social media and turned into media crises, he noted.

Urging for strengthening the specialized system for handling public relations, legal issues and media crises in each sector and locality, he stressed it is urgent to have internal codes of conduct for individuals and organizations.

Leaders of sectors and localities must also have tools and ways to receive and review opinions and criticism on online platforms for proper analysis and response, he said, noting the MIC has a cyberspace monitoring centre which can provide support in this matter.

Source: VNA