New Vietnamese internet rules requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and hand over data to authorities came into force on Wednesday, in what critics say is the latest attack on freedom of expression.Under “Decree 147”, all tech giants operating in Vietnam must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.They must provide that data to authorities on request and remove any content the government regards as “illegal” within 24 hours.The new rules came into force on Wednesday, state media VNExpress said.All social media sites had been given 90 days to provide data on “the total number of regular visits from Vietnam” and the number of regular users per month to authorities, the website said.”Decree 147 will be used to publicly suppress those with different viewpoints,” said activist Dang Thi Hue, who writes about politics and social issues on her Facebook account, which has 28,000 followers.The decree was “the latest sign of infringement of basic freedoms… with a vague line between what is legal and what is not,” said former political prisoner Le Anh Hung.”No one wants to go to jail, so of course some activists will be more cautious and afraid of this decree.”Vietnam’s hardline administration generally moves swiftly to stamp out dissent and arrest critics, especially those who find an audience on social media.In October, blogger Duong Van Thai — who had almost 120,000 followers on YouTube, where he regularly recorded livestreams critical of the government — was jailed for 12 years on charges of publishing anti-state information.Decree 147 builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticised by the United States, European Union and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China’s repressive censorship of the internet.- ‘Just keep playing’ -The decree also says that only verified accounts can livestream, impacting the exploding number of people earning a living through social commerce on sites such as TikTok.Aside from the ramifications for social media firms, the new laws also include curbs on gaming for under-18s, designed to prevent addiction.Game publishers are expected to enforce a time limit of an hour per game session and not more than 180 minutes a day for all games.Just over half of Vietnam’s 100 million population regularly plays such games, says data research firm Newzoo.A large proportion of the population is also on social media, with the Ministry of Information and Communications estimating the country has around 65 million Facebook users, 60 million on YouTube and 20 million on TikTok.The force of the decree was yet to be felt at a small online gaming cafe in capital Hanoi, where around a dozen young people were glued to their desktop screens.”I don’t know anything about a time limit for the games,” said one 15-year-old boy who said he had skipped class to come and play.”I just keep playing, and as you see, it still works.” “I never have to show an ID or student card to enter a gameshop or for my game account online. I don’t know how (the decree) will work, let’s see.”The owner of the cafe, who charges around 30 cents for an hour of gaming, was similarly nonchalant.”I have no idea what this decree is about. I don’t know if it will work or not.” “My business is still going normally. They pay and we let them use the desktop for their gaming. It’s simple.”

Fuelled in part by the success of TV hit “Shogun”, foreign studios are hungry for quality Japanese content and local creators are adaptingto meet demand.Fans of Japanese manga and anime cartoons have often criticised foreign adaptations that are unfaithful to the original material.But “Shogun”, based on the 1975 novel by Australian-British writer James Clavell, broke the mould when the period drama series — mostly in Japanese and hailed for its authenticity — won 18 Emmy awards in September. Other recent Japanese works have also become worldwide hits.Franco-US-Japanese show “Drops of God”, based on a manga of the same name, won best drama series at the International Emmy Awards in November.Netflix’s 2023 adaptation of the manga superhit “One Piece” — starring Mexican actor Inaki Godoy as the lead — was hailed by viewers and critics alike and will return for a second season.More adaptations of major manga and anime hits are in the works, including the superhero adventures of “My Hero Academia” and the ninja escapades of “Naruto”.”Demand from Western markets is clearly increasing,” said Kaori Ikeda, managing director at TIFFCOM, the content trade fair affiliated with the Tokyo International Film Festival.But Japanese companies lack “know-how” when it comes to things like negotiating rights, she told AFP.So TIFFCOM has organised Tokyo Story Market, a space to facilitate networking and meetings between international producers and Japanese publishers.- ‘Whitewashing’ -Foreign studios are also getting better at avoiding some of the pitfalls of the past, such as the 2017 film version of the manga “Ghost in the Shell” starring Scarlett Johansson.Critics accused the movie, whose main actors except Takeshi Kitano were all non-Japanese, of “whitewashing”.Similarly, the 2017 supernatural thriller “Death Note” was panned for veering too far from the original manga.”Manga authors are highly respected and fan communities are very vigilant,” said Klaus Zimmermann, producer of “Drops of God”.His adaptation takes some liberties, such as starring a French actor as one of the main characters, but Zimmermann insists it was developed in collaboration with the authors of the original manga.”It was about finding the spirit of the manga so as not to distort it,” he told AFP.Yuki Takamatsu, a rights negotiator at the manga’s publishing house Kodansha, said the process of adapting “Drops of God” was “amazing”.”Everyone was open to tackling those challenges together… At every step, everyone was understanding about how we should do it,” he said.Past failures were in part down to publishers struggling to communicate their wishes to foreign producers, who in turn lacked a proper understanding of manga and anime, Takamatsu said.”Back just 15, 20 years ago, most of the enquiries we received from those big studios were like, hey, I know ‘Dragon Ball’, do you have ‘Dragon Ball’ IP?” Takamatsu told AFP.”But nowadays, especially since Covid, the producers in their 30s, 40s, they watch anime together with their kids on Netflix or Amazon” and then reach out, he said.- Japanese TV goes global -Japanese broadcasters have also become “better and better (at) presenting and marketing their content” abroad, said Makito Sugiyama, executive director at the Broadcast Program Export Association of Japan (BEAJ).This includes their participation at global events such as MIPCOM in Cannes, an annual trade show for the television industry, Sugiyama said.Japanese broadcasters have long had success selling show concepts abroad, like the one for “America’s Funniest Home Videos”, known in Britain as “You’ve Been Framed”.Now, some Japanese dramas are also finding a wider echo abroad.Nippon TV’s original drama “Mother” became a hit thanks in part to its Turkish remake, and has been broadcast in around 50 countries.Western viewers have overcome their initial reluctance to watch series with Asian actors, believes Masaru Akiyama, chief executive of the BEAJ.”They have got used to it, they don’t care anymore. They want to see, they want to feel the stories.””Shogun” was “a game changer for Japan,” he added, and Ikeda agrees.”That a samurai story with such attention to historical detail can become mainstream entertainment is proof of the potential” of Japanese content, she said.