Vietnam to block Google payment for YouTube toxic content

At the meeting session to rectify advertising activities on cross-border digital platforms held on Tuesday, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung stressed that blocking payments made to illegal activities on digital platforms will be one of the critical tasks to wipe out inappropriate and toxic advertising contents on YouTube.

“Vietnam does not welcome cross-border businesses that do not comply with local regulations. The government will use due legal, economic and technical means to ensure they follow the regulations,” noted Hung.

Pham Tien Dung, director of the Payment Department at the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), noted that SBV is currently joining forces with the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the Department for High-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security to come up with due measures to prevent the cash flow that Google initiates to toxic video clips.

As these measures are on its way to be put into practice, advertising activities are expected to become more transparent and set right within the framework of the Vietnam’s advertising laws.

Many toxic advertisements have been discovered on digital platforms like YouTube and Facebook over the years.

According to Nguyen Thanh Lam, director of MIC’s Department of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information, there have been some 55,000 video clips found on YouTube with toxic content violating the current laws. By June 25, the authority has reported around 100 local brands having their ads associated with illegal content. Some notable names include Samsung, Yamaha, Shopee, Grab and VNG.

While Google has taken its initiative to remove some 8,000 toxic video clips on YouTube over the past two years as per the authority’s requests, Lam said that its management mechanism remains inadequate to completely remove or block the inappropriate content.

YouTube’s filter, in particular, still has its shortcomings in terms of creating the loopholes for users to upload prohibited content hidden under lawful titles and descriptions.

From the perspective of the tax authority, Nguyen Van Phung, director of the Department of Tax Administration and Large Enterprises, under the General Department of Taxation, pointed to the fact that there have been some 765,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises opting for ads on YouTube to cut cost. Large enterprises, on the other hand, tend to contract ‘clean’ or reputable advertising agencies for their marketing purposes.

Phung noted that the tax agency has proposed the government to reapply the advance tax payment scheme, applicable to YouTube creators earning from VND100 million ($4,347) upwards.