Solving the situation of "anonymity and irresponsibility"
Decree 147/2024/ND-CP, which has just been signed by the Prime Minister, will take effect on December 25, 2024. The Decree applies to domestic and foreign organizations and individuals directly involved in or related to the management, provision, and use of Internet services and online information.
One of the notable points of Decree 147 is that social network users must provide basic personal information including full name, date of birth, mobile phone number in Vietnam or ID (if there is no phone number). Social networks must authenticate users via registered phone numbers or personal identification numbers.
Only verified social media accounts are allowed to provide information (write articles, comment, livestream) and share information on social media. Social media accounts that livestream for commercial purposes such as selling products and generating revenue must be authenticated with a personal identification number.
The Decree stipulates that users are protected by information according to the provisions of law, and must be responsible for the content they provide, store, transmit, and share on the network; comply with specialized legal regulations when providing specialized services on social networks; comply with tax and payment regulations when conducting business activities and generating revenue.
Channel/account/community group/community page (fanpage) owners on social networks in Vietnam have the right and responsibility to register to participate in training courses, disseminate legal regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications and are recommended to choose advertising; do not name channels/accounts/community groups/community pages similar to or identical to press agencies or cause confusion with press agencies...
In addition, it is responsible for temporarily blocking and removing information that violates or affects the rights of other organizations and individuals within 48 hours of a request from a social network user or within 24 hours of a request from a competent State management agency. Do not use it to produce content in the form of reports, investigations, or press interviews. When livestreaming, it is necessary to comply with the provisions of this Decree and specialized regulations.
According to Mr. Le Quang Tu Do, Director of the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, the new regulations will solve the situation of "anonymity and irresponsibility". Platforms must provide user information to the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Public Security when requested for accounts and channels showing signs of violations.
Prevent the risk of data leakage
Speaking with Lao Dong, Mr. Nguyen Huu Trung, CEO of Cystack Cyber Security Joint Stock Company, affirmed that verifying social network accounts will help reduce fraud cases via social networks.
“The question is who will hold the data authentication information related to user identity, because there will be a data storage party (social network), a data user party, and a data processor party. Data loss, leakage or modification can be caused by any of these parties. Therefore, the application of legal regulations must be applied to all parties,” Mr. Trung emphasized.
Mr. Nguyen Hung - Information security expert, R&D Director at Vietnix Hosting - said that the regulation of social network account authentication by phone number is an important step in the context of fraud cases using social networks as a tool accounting for 70%.
According to Mr. Hung, fake accounts are the source of many problems on social networks, such as spreading false information, fraud, and harassment. Mandatory authentication will limit the creation of fake and anonymous accounts, making violations more difficult to commit. When accounts are linked to real identities (via phone numbers or personal identification numbers), illegal acts will be easily traced and handled.
“The Decree helps synchronize the management system, ensuring that laws are applied consistently between the real and digital environments, creating a transparent and healthy cyberspace,” the information security expert emphasized.
According to Mr. Hung, after Decree 147 takes effect, there may be cases where subjects use phone numbers registered under other people's names to "bypass" the verification step. Currently, short-term phone number rental services for the purpose of receiving account verification messages are also very popular.
It is possible to use a VPN (virtual private network) to hide your real IP address; use a non-compliant platform; attack or buy back authenticated accounts...
To overcome the above shortcomings, Mr. Hung proposed that it is necessary to ensure that the social network account authentication system is linked to the national population database, check the accuracy and legality of phone numbers and identification information; only accept genuine phone numbers that have been authenticated by the network operator.
Mr. Hung recommends that users enable 2-layer security (2FA), ensuring that only the account owner can access, limiting the risk of being hijacked. Build an automatic monitoring mechanism on social networking platforms to detect and warn of unusual transactions and interactions.
