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The Zalo app icon is seen on a smartphone. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy |
The National Competition Committee, which operates under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said it has requested a working session with VNG on Wednesday to address concerns over how Zalo collects and handles user data.
"The working session aims to clarify information for the purpose protecting consumer rights," the committee said in a statement.
VNG is required to explain how it owns, manages and operates the Zalo platform and how it collects information on users.
Zalo – Vietnam’s most popular messaging platform with more than 80 million users – last week rolled out new service terms on its mobile application.
These include the Zalo Terms of Use (16 articles) and the Zalo Social Network Terms of Use (21 articles). This means it distinguishes the terms for the messaging feature and the social media feature.
Users can choose agree to all or to each feature. If users do not agree with either, their accounts will be deleted within 45 days.
Zalo’s move quickly became a topic of discussion across multiple Facebook groups, mainly concerning the way the update was implemented, which users said left them with little choice.
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Zalo's updated user terms are seen on a smartphone. Photo by VnExpress/Luu Quy |
Users were worried about the added a definition of "user content," referring to text, images and audio that users upload to the social network.
The terms state that users agree to allow VNG to use, edit, compile, publish and create derivative products from user content that is provided or publicly shared.
These changes raised concerns to users, fearing their data, including text messages and photos, might be used by a third party.
10-year user Thanh Tuan in Hanoi said that he felt like the platform was "forcing" him to agree to the terms, wondering "whether any provisions detrimental to users have been embedded."
"I will try another messaging application for a while. If that does not work, I will have to accept to Zalo’s terms," he said.
