although this remains primarily an administrative measure. Several influencers have reportedly supported these programs499. Aside from these developments, the MPS announced a draft resolution titled “Developing Digital Citizens” in December 2025500. The initiative would allow the government to rank and score citizens and has been compared to China’s Social Credit System, which controls nearly every aspect of people’s lives. If implemented, it would further expand the government’s surveillance efforts. As part of Tô Lâm’s streamlining efforts, Vietnam is moving closer to becoming a surveillance state following the transfer of MobiFone—the country’s third-largest telecommunications provider—to the Ministry of Public Security, which became official in February 2025501. This shift could allow the ministry to obtain personal information more easily502. In July 2025, the ministry also acquired a majority stake in one of the country’s largest internet providers, FPT Telecom503. In Vietnam, Viettel is the largest telecommunications provider, and Vinaphone—operated by the Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT)—is the second largest. Viettel and Vinaphone are state-owned. Together with MobiFone, these three providers control more than 90 percent of the Vietnamese telecommunications market504. C. Implications of the Situations on Human Rights and Democracy The tightening control of the digital space is pushing Vietnam further into a state of pervasive surveillance, driven largely by the expanding role of the Ministry of Public Security, which functions as the national police force. “Vietnam’s Control and Use of KOLs: Following the Chinese Model?” BBC News Tiếng Việt, 1 Sep. 2025, www.bbc.com/vietnamese/articles/c2dj6p97rexo. 500. “Why Does the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security Want to ‘Rank Digital Citizens’?” BBC News Tiếng Việt, 23 Dec. 2025, www.bbc.com/vietnamese/articles/ce3z7evqwepo. 501. An, Bình, and Thúc Kháng. “The Revamped Ministry of Public Security Under General Secretary To Lam.” The Vietnamese, 19 Mar. 2025, www.thevietnamese.org/2025/03/the-revamped-ministry-of-publicsecurity-under-general-secretary-to-lam. 502. “Explained: Why Is Vietnam’s Police Ministry Overseeing a Large Telecom?” Radio Free Asia, 17 Jan. 2025, www.rfa.org/english/vietnam/2025/01/17/vietnam-mobifone-takeover. 503. “Vietnam’s Public Security Ministry Takes Stake in Internet Firm FPT Telecom.” Reuters, 16 July 2025, www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/vietnams-public-security-ministry-takes-stakeinternet-firm-fpt-telecom-2025-07-16. 504. An, Bình, and Thúc Kháng. “The Revamped Ministry of Public Security Under General Secretary To Lam.” The Vietnamese, 19 Mar. 2025, thevietnamese.org/2025/03/the-revamped-ministry-of-public-securityunder-general-secretary-to-lam. 499. 99