Ministry of Information and Communications issues directive on preventing spam and scam messages

On December 24, 2014, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son signed and issued Directive No. 82/CT-BTTTT on preventing spam messages, scam messages and strengthening information management on the Internet.

The Directive clearly states: In recent times, with the efforts of State management agencies, enterprises and the unanimous support of organizations and individuals in society, the provision of information content services via text messages and online information has had positive changes, contributing to economic and social development, stabilizing the domestic political situation, especially the application of text messaging services to promptly convey messages from the Government, information on disease prevention to people, organize charity programs, donate, support, help people in difficult circumstances, and encourage soldiers to feel secure in their work of protecting borders and islands, contributing to maintaining national sovereignty.

The spread of spam and scam messages is on the rise again, causing damage and frustration to people. Illustration photo: Internet.

However, recently, spam messages, scam messages, information on the Internet with unhealthy content, insulting the reputation of organizations, honor and dignity of individuals, pornography, fortune telling, gambling, and lottery have shown signs of resurgence, causing damage to users, affecting national security, social order and safety, and causing public outrage.

In order to prevent the spread of spam and scam messages and strengthen information management on the Internet in the coming time, the Minister of Information and Communications requests agencies, units and enterprises to seriously perform the following tasks:

1. Department of Telecommunications

1.1. Enhance the effectiveness of prepaid mobile subscriber information management according to the provisions of Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BTTTT dated April 13, 2012 on prepaid mobile subscriber management as a basis for preventing and handling subjects using prepaid SIMs to spread spam and fraudulent messages; Enhance the effectiveness of implementing Circular No. 14/2012/TT-BTTTT dated October 12, 2012 on terrestrial mobile information service rates to reduce the number of virtual subscribers, junk SIMs and improve the accuracy of prepaid mobile subscriber information; Actively coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in completing and using the electronic database on identity cards.

1.2. Urgently complete and submit to the Minister for signing and promulgation the Circular guiding Decree No. 72/2013/TT-BTTTT regulating the connection of enterprises providing information content services and mobile telecommunications enterprises, which details the texting prefix, the rate of dividing the price of information content services using short messages, management measures to ensure the sustainable development of content services, fair competition between enterprises and promote the development of content services, contributing to limiting spam messages and scam messages.

1.3. Research and propose reasonable regulations on managing advertising message rates to encourage organizations and businesses to send advertising messages in accordance with the law.

1.4. Quickly complete regulations on managing telephone and Internet-based messaging services (OTT), including regulations to limit the sending of spam messages from the Internet.

2. Information Security Department

2.1. Closely follow the progress of the implementation of the Information Security Law Project, creating a complete legal corridor for the management of personal information.

2.2. Focus on implementing the contents of Decree 77/2012/ND-CP on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 90/2008/ND-CP dated August 13, 2008 of the Government on anti-spam; requiring mobile telecommunications enterprises to build technical systems capable of effectively blocking spam messages by frequency, sending source and keywords in message content according to regulations.

2.3. Preside, coordinate and cooperate with relevant organizations and individuals to promote the management and prevention of spam messages.

2.4. Take the lead and coordinate with relevant units to implement propaganda, dissemination and raise awareness among users about legal regulations related to preventing spam messages.

2.5. Proactively propose solutions to prevent spam messages, including researching regulations on the frequency of sending messages to mobile subscribers; strengthening law enforcement to strictly handle acts of illegally collecting and trading personal information online, information about customers' mobile phone numbers.

3. Department of Press, Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information

3.1. Direct press agencies, radio, television, electronic newspapers, organizations, enterprises to set up general electronic information pages, social networks, and enterprises providing electronic game services to increase the dissemination of laws, mechanisms, policies, and information related to preventing spam messages and scam messages to society, businesses, and users; regularly provide warning information and recommendations to service users to prevent and limit spam messages and scam information on the Internet in general, especially on the Internet, mobile telecommunications networks, forums, social networks, in online electronic games and Internet-based conversation applications (OTT).

3.2. Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information:

a) Urgently develop a Circular guiding Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP regulating the provision of content services on mobile telecommunications networks, which specifically stipulates the responsibilities of telecommunications service providers and information content service providers in closely coordinating to prevent and limit the dissemination of spam messages, unhealthy information, and information that violates the law and affects users;

b) Proactively coordinate closely with associations, enterprises providing domestic telecommunications and Internet services, and relevant units in the Ministry to research and advise the Ministry's leaders to submit to competent authorities to promulgate mechanisms and policies to encourage and facilitate domestic organizations and enterprises to synchronously develop popular Internet services, including social networks and search engines that attract a large number of domestic users; build a coordination mechanism between functional agencies in handling and promptly and effectively preventing illegal online information content.

4. Ministry Inspectorate

Preside over and coordinate with the Department of Telecommunications, the Department of Information Security, and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Center (VNCERT) to strengthen the implementation of inspection, examination, and strict handling of violations related to the acts of spreading spam messages, scam messages, and providing information that violates the law; at the same time, guide and direct specialized inspectors of the Departments of Information and Communications to conduct inspections, strictly punish and suspend the provision of services for cases of spreading spam messages, scam messages, or transfer the case to the police agency to investigate and handle cases with signs of criminal violations.

5. Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Team (VNCERT)

5.1. Strengthen monitoring, detect signs of spam and scam messages and provide them to competent authorities to handle violations; closely coordinate with inspection agencies, relevant state management agencies, and police agencies in investigating and handling organizations and individuals spreading spam and scam messages.

5.2. Coordinate with relevant units to promptly complete and submit to the Minister for signing and promulgation the Circular guiding Decree No. 77/2012/ND-CP on anti-spam to help the information content service market develop healthily and fairly, contributing to limiting spam messages, fraudulent messages and ensuring the rights and legitimate interests of telecommunications service users.

5.3. Quickly upgrade and effectively operate the technical system to receive spam messages from service users and automatically collect spam messages, receive copies of advertising messages; build a coordination mechanism to collect and provide information reflecting spam messages to agencies and organizations with functions and responsibilities to fight spam.

6. Information Center of the Ministry, press agencies, central and local radio and television stations

6.1. Increase the time spent posting and broadcasting news and articles about spam prevention and suppression activities and violations by businesses that have been handled so that people know and avoid them; forward people's complaints about spam and scam messages to competent authorities for consideration and handling.

6.2. Regularly propagate to people to be vigilant, not to reply to messages or follow instructions for messages of unknown origin, containing advertising content, solicitations or impersonating businesses, organizations, individuals to make illegal profits; recommend people not to send messages to numbers providing content services if the users themselves do not clearly understand or are not sure about information about the service, service fees; provide complete information about the spam message feedback system to number 456 of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

7. Department of Information and Communications of provinces and centrally-run cities

7.1. Research and propose to competent authorities to issue regulations related to preventing and limiting spam messages for local application on the basis of compliance with legal regulations on spam messages.

7.2. Strengthen inspection, examination and strict handling of violations of regulations on prepaid mobile subscriber management and acts of spreading spam messages, fraudulent messages, and providing information that violates the law in the management area.

7.3. Direct local press agencies, radio and television stations to increase broadcasting time, propaganda articles, and raise public awareness of legal regulations related to spam messages, the harmful effects of spam messages, and scam messages, and to always be vigilant and protect themselves to avoid being exploited.

8. Mobile telecommunications businesses

8.1. Deploy text message campaigns to all subscribers in its network at the request of competent state management agencies to raise users' awareness of preventing and combating spam and scam messages; promptly report to competent state agencies and notify users of widespread and serious spam and scam message incidents.

8.2. Strengthen the review and supervision of the activities of enterprises providing information content services that cooperate with you; in case any enterprise is found to have signs of spreading spam messages, fraudulent messages, providing services with unhealthy content, or content that violates the law, the business cooperation contract shall be terminated according to the terms stipulated in the contract, and at the same time, report to the Ministry of Information and Communications (Department of Telecommunications, Ministry Inspectorate, Department of Information Security) for monitoring and handling according to the provisions of law.

8.3. Build a technical system capable of effectively blocking spam messages based on frequency, sending source and keywords in the content according to regulations; proactively collect statistics and keywords that frequently appear in spam messages and update the spam blocking system.

8.4. Strengthen monitoring and surveillance to detect prepaid mobile subscribers spreading spam messages and take immediate action to prevent and recall violators.

8.5. Regularly check and review the activities of sending advertisements via text messages to ensure that the content of the messages is clear, complies with regulations and that advertising messages are only sent to subscribers who have previously registered to receive advertisements and have not refused to receive advertisements. For advertising messages for content services, it is necessary to ensure that advertising messages have full information about the price and instructions for canceling the service.

8.6. Seriously implement and fully report the implementation as required by competent state agencies regarding inspection, prevention and handling of spam and scam messages.

9. Businesses providing information content services

9.1. Strictly implement the regulations on providing information content services on mobile telecommunications networks in Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP dated July 15, 2013 on management, provision and use of Internet services and information on the network; the regulations in Decree No. 90/2008/ND-CP dated August 13, 2008 on anti-spam and Decree No. 77/2012/ND-CP dated October 5, 2012 on amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 90/2008/ND-CP.

9.2. Strictly manage the provision of content services via text messages on its service numbers; seriously and actively implement coordination requirements to prevent and handle spam and scam messages as required by competent state agencies; proactively coordinate with mobile telecommunications enterprises in handling complaints about content services related to its services.

9.3. Fully and clearly post and publicize service prices and fees, and provide information on configuration requirements and types of phones that can use the service when advertising content services via text messages on radio, television, electronic newspapers, printed newspapers, leaflets, etc.; fully publish information on service prices and fees right next to the syntax corresponding to that service on its website and in advertising programs.

9.4. When advertising content services via text messages, prize-winning text messaging services or voting, donation and support programs, full and clear information about the price must be posted and provided.

10. Businesses providing social networking services, businesses providing online electronic game services, organizations and businesses setting up electronic information pages

10.1. Strictly implement the regulations on the provision of social network services in Decree No. 72/2013/ND-CP dated July 15, 2013 on the management, provision and use of Internet services and information on the network; the regulations in Circular No. 09/2014/TT-BTTTT dated August 19, 2014 detailing the management, provision and use of information on electronic information pages and social networks;

10.2. Set up an automatic warning mechanism (mandatory display) to users as soon as they log in to use the service about forms and signs of fraudulent messages and fraudulent information on social networks and in online games; instruct service users on how to handle and report violations to social network service providers and online game service providers when detecting fraudulent messages, fraudulent information, unhealthy information and information that violates the law.

10.3. Promptly implement measures to check and promptly prevent fraudulent acts appearing on social networks and in electronic games when self-detected or when receiving warnings from service users; implement measures to protect the rights of service users according to the provisions of law.

10.4. Actively and proactively deploy a coordination mechanism to be able to immediately remove violating content according to the provisions at Point c, Clause 2, Article 5 of Circular No. 09/2014/TT-BTTTT dated August 19, 2014 detailing the management, provision and use of information on electronic information pages and social networks.

11.Agencies and units under the Ministry, Departments of Information and Communications of provinces and centrally-run cities, Central and local radio and television stations, press agencies, mobile telecommunications enterprises, enterprises providing content services via text messages, enterprises providing social network services, enterprises providing online electronic game services, organizations and enterprises establishing general electronic information websites are responsible for coordinating to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement this Directive.

The Department of Telecommunications is responsible for presiding over and coordinating with the Department of Information Security, the Department of Radio, Television and Electronic Information, the Ministry Inspectorate, and the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Center to monitor, urge, and inspect the implementation of this Directive, summarize the results every 6 months, and report to the Minister.

Source: Infonet