Facebook, Twitter, Google Ordered By Vietnam To Store User Data Onshore And Set Up Physical Offices

As Vietnam tightens its cybersecurity rules, the government has asked tech companies to set up local offices and store users' data locally.

What Happened: The new rules, issued in a decree on Wednesday, will take effect from Oct. 1 and require tech giants like Alphabet Inc.'s GOOGL GOOG Google, Meta Platforms Inc's META Facebook, and Twitter Inc TWTR to set up physical offices in Vietnam and store data onshore.

An email sent to Google, Meta, and Twitter by Benzinga seeking comments didn't elicit any response as of press time.

"Data of all internet users ranging from financial records and biometric data to information on peoples' ethnicity and political views, or any data created by users while surfing the internet must be to stored domestically," the decree said, according to Reuters. 

See Also: Apple Watch And Macbooks To Be Made In Vietnam For 1st Time Ever

The new rules will also give authorities the power to issue data collection requests for the purpose of investigation and to ask platforms to remove content if it violates the country's guidelines.

The government has given foreign firms 12 months to set up local data storage and representative offices and said it must store user data locally for a minimum period of 24 months.

Meanwhile, Apple Inc's AAPL Chinese suppliers Luxshare Precision Industry and Foxconn have started test production of Apple Watches in Vietnam. The U.S. tech giant is in talks to make Watches and MacBooks in Vietnam for the first time.

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