Vietnam blacklists 403 websites for legal violations

By VNA January 3, 2024 | 11:33 pm PT

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) has announced a "black list" of 403 websites with signs of law violation in 2023.

Some of the websites are those providing online betting services.

Advertising service dealers, advertising publishers, and advertisers will be banned from cooperating with the websites blacklisted and named on the ministry’s portal.

Apart from gambling and betting-related websites, the list also includes many websites that illegally broadcast and violate copyright of sports programs. Users frequently visit these websites instead of using officially licensed content viewing services.

The ministry also published a list of websites with verified content (white list) that brands and businesses are encouraged to advertise on.

First launched in March 2023, the white list included 301 electronic newspapers and magazines, 1,381 general electronic information pages, 953 social networks that were licensed with full information about licensing agencies, license numbers, licensed units, managing agencies as well as website domain names.

Publishing the black list and the white list is one of the ministry's solutions to strengthen management over online advertising.