PM urges strict monitoring over false Facebook map

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) to closely monitor Facebook during its handling of a misleading map of Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

PM Phuc required the Minister of Information and Communications to direct the units concerned to closely follow Facebook’s handling to resolutely ensure that the same incident will not occur again.

Previously, Facebook displaying the map with Hoang Sa and Truong Sa attached to Chinese territory had stirred outrage among the public. The MIC’s Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information has asked Facebook to handle the issue related to the social networking site which identifies the two Vietnamese archipelagos as being under Chinese sovereignty.

Recently, a Facebook spokesperson said they have investigated and found it was a technical error. They have fixed the bug and are deploying the update globally.