The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications accused TikTok Inc. of failing to effectively block content that violates Vietnamese law following an investigation into the platform’s operations in the Southeast Asian country.

TikTok also stored illegal information, including content that could incite violence and posed risks to children, according to the report, which cited Le Quang Tu Do, the director of Vietnam’s Authority of Broadcasting, Television and Electronic Information under the ministry during a Thursday meeting.

The report showed that TikTok has no measures in place to protect children from being exposed to inappropriate information or privacy violations.

The platform also violated regulations tied to intellectual property rights, it said. 

In May, an intersectoral inspection group carried out investigations into TikTok’s Ho Chi Minh City-based representative office and TikTok Technologies Vietnam Company Limited - TikTok Vietnam.

The two entities were found to not be directly involved in managing and providing cross-border services in Vietnam through TikTok.com and the app TikTok.

Their cross-border services are directly managed and operated by TikTok Pte. Ltd. (TikTok Singapore).

The inspection team thus made several proposals to both TikTok and Vietnamese government authorities to resolve the aforementioned issues.

A representative of TikTok in Vietnam said the platform respects local laws and regulations and will continue to cooperate with authorities to find solutions for the investigations findings.

Vietnam is ranked sixth globally when it comes to the number of TikTok users, at around 50 million, according to a Data Reportal report.

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