International human rights organizations and Vietnamese Facebookers call on Mark Zuckerberg to reverse Meta’s recent geo-blocking of Facebook pages belonging to pro-democracy activists and civil society voices in Vietnam and to address the inconsistent enforcement of Meta’s own community standards.
The joint letter calls for urgent actions to uphold Meta’s stated commitment to free expression and to stop enabling political repression by an authoritarian regime.
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Re: Meta Must Pushback on the Vietnamese Government’s Censorship Demands
January 13, 2026
Mr. Mark Zuckerberg
Chief Executive Officer
Meta Platforms, Inc.
1 Hacker Way
Menlo Park, CA 94025
United States
Dear Mark:
In January 2025, you announced “it’s time to get back to our roots around free expression on Facebook and Instagram.” You also declared: “we’re going to work with President Trump to push back on governments around the world.”
We, the undersigned individuals, civil society organizations, and victims of digital repression, write to express our profound concern regarding Meta’s recent geo-blocking of leading Facebook pages inside Vietnam at the request of the Vietnamese government. We are also troubled by Meta’s inconsistent enforcement of its own community standards which have been manipulated by adversarial reporting — resulting in false reports of impersonation, copyright infringement, and other policy violations. The cumulative effect of these actions undermines trust in Meta’s commitment to principled platform governance.
Beginning December 4, 2025, Meta disclosed that it had blocked access within Vietnam to 17 Facebook pages, including Viet Tan, Le Trung Khoa and Nguyen Van Dai. On December 14, Meta disclosed that it had geoblocked three additional Facebook pages. We understand that many more Vietnamese Facebook pages have been blocked in recent weeks, not just the 20 indicated in your two case studies.
These pages represent legitimate and peaceful dissenting voices, including pro-democracy activists and civil society voices that are vital to public discourse. The restrictions were implemented at the request of the Ministry of Public Security and other Vietnamese state authorities.
Please do not allow yourself to be blackmailed by the Vietnamese authorities. Rather than having Meta be used as an instrument of political repression, we urge you to:
- Push back on the Vietnamese authorities and involve the White House. The Vietnamese government’s pressure on an American technology company runs counter to Hanoi’s pledges to eliminate arbitrary trade restrictions and regulations against American companies. The Vietnamese government should not expect lower reciprocal tariffs on exports to America if it engages in discriminatory practices such as threatening to “affect access” to the Facebook platform in Vietnam.
- Reinstate access within Vietnam to the geo-blocked Facebook pages of Viet Tan and other independent voices — and publish a transparent explanation of the factual and legal basis relied upon in each case.
- Commit to more consistent and principled enforcement of platform standards whether in content moderation, advertising fraud, or political speech — without undue deference to authoritarian regulatory pressure. Consider engaging with civil society and independent human rights experts in a transparent review process to revise Meta’s operational policies in contexts where governmental pressure can lead to suppression of fundamental rights.
On the one year anniversary of your “more speech and fewer mistakes” declaration, it’s time to reaffirm and strengthen Meta’s human rights-aligned content governance policies, including explicit safeguards against censorship requests from authoritarian governments such as Vietnam’s.
Sincerely,
Organizations:
- ACAT France (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
- ACAT Germany (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture)
- Brotherhood for Democracy
- Center of AI and Technology for Democracy (PIKAT)
- Cosunam (Swiss-Vietnam Committee)
- Human Rights Myanmar
- Manushya Foundation
- Myanmar Internet Project
- Safeguard Defenders
- Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
- Truyen Hinh Hoa Sen
- Viet Tan
- V5TV Tin Tuc Uc Viet
- WHAT TO FIX
Activists & Citizen Journalists:
- Le Trung Khoa | https://www.facebook.com/le.t.khoa.1
- Nguyen Van Dai | https://www.facebook.com/nguyenvandai0906
- Dang Hue Nhu | https://www.facebook.com/dangnhuhuetb
- Thu Do | https://www.facebook.com/share/1Fmnvyp2BH/
- Trang Nguyen | https://www.facebook.com/tienlen.01.02.1990
- Nguyen Hong Ngoc | https://www.facebook.com/nguyen.hong.ngoc.604453
- Dang Tu | https://www.facebook.com/dvt1011
- Bui Huy Phong | https://facebook.com/phong.euro.73
- Joes Daniel | https://www.facebook.com/Joesepdaniel
- Nguyen Khac Long | https://www.facebook.com/khaclong.nguyen.585
- Yoo Deniel | https://www.facebook.com/life.yoedaniel
- Huynh Thi Thanh Nhan | https://www.facebook.com/lac.viet.9
- Angelina Trang Huynh | https://www.facebook.com/angelinahuynh2004
- Manh Dang | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585988376541
- Khiet Ngan | https://www.facebook.com/khietngan.mc
- Xuyen Suzie | https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61585621872583
Read the letter in pdf: 2026-01-13_Meta must pushback on Vietnamese government s censorship demands.
