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Discussion on: Facebook agreed to censor "anti-state" content in Vietnam

 
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Yufan Lou

Case in point, what if Facebook is "banned from Vietnam", so as to "send a better message to [you]"?

First, the existing users in Vietnam, 63 million of them (Data), lose their service, causing both significant economic loss and mental stress.

Second, the Vietnam users may find workarounds in VPNs, which are less likely than not to be effective (Study), and subject them to more surveillance.

Third, the Vietnam government may actively direct the citizens to a more controlled alternative. It may be developed in-house, or a vendor product like WeChat. The alternative is bound to be more restrictive and easier to monitor than Facebook.

Vietnam users suffer more than if Facebook stayed with a compromise. Much more. To send you a better message.

Fourth, after Facebook is banned from Vietnam, the media reporting will fade, and people like you would not continue to care about any of the above developments after you have got your "better message". With less international pressure, Vietnam then has all the diplomatic space to double down on censorship and surveillance.