Asia Pacific Censorship News

The video game distribution platform Steam has been banned entirely in Vietnam.

Vietnamese players took to Steam forums, saying all of the country's internet providers blocked access to both Valve's app and browser. One commenter said they spoke to someone who claimed the order came from above.

Neither Valve or anyone from Vietnam's government have spoken on the matter.

An article in VietnamNet suggested that the ban may be connected to domestic publishers. A representative for one domestic publisher claimed Steam can put out games in the country without having to seek permission from the local government like Vietnamese developers have to. According to them, Valve's alleged ability to break the rules is an injustice to domestic publishers.

China is to bring in new rules that will limit the amount of money and time that people can spend on video games.

The restrictions are aimed at limiting in-game purchases and restricting time spent gaming. The planned curbs also reiterate a ban on forbidden online game content that endangers national unity and endangers national security or harms national reputation and interests.

Online games must not offer rewards that entice people to excessively play and spend, including those for daily logins and topping up accounts with additional funds, said the industry regulator, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA).

Pop-ups warning users of irrational playing behaviour are also set to come into force and game publishers would need to house their servers processing and storing user data in China, rather than elsewhere.

The news sent shares in tech giants tumbling and wiped tens of billions of dollars off their value.

According to Reuters, the censor is seeking public comment on the proposals by 22 January.

According to Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Informatics, Twitter  was blocked because the domain had previously been used by sites that disregarded the nation's cesnorship laws on gambling and pornography.

EnGadget quoted Usman Kansong, the director general of information and public communication at the ministry, as claiming that X had been contacted by the government to provide further information about the site's purpose.

Due to the change, the platform, which purportedly has 24 million members among Indonesia's 270 million people, was inaccessible to Indonesians.

Barbie is a 2023 UK/US comedy fantasy by Greta Gerwig
Starring Margot Robbie, Kingsley Ben-Adir and Ryan Gosling

Barbie suffers a crisis that leads her to question her world and her existence.

Vietnam has banned the upcoming Barbie movie from domestic distribution over a scene featuring a map that shows China's unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea.

Vi Kien Thanh, head of the Department of Cinema, a government body in charge of licensing and censoring foreign films said:

We do not grant license for the American movie 'Barbie' to release in Vietnam because it contains the offending image of the nine-dash line.

The U-shaped nine-dash line is used on Chinese maps to illustrate its claims over vast areas of the South China Sea, including swathes of what Vietnam considers its continental shelf, where it has awarded oil concessions.

Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, was originally slated to open in Vietnam on July 21.

Barbie is the latest movie to be banned in Vietnam for depicting China's controversial nine-dash line, which was repudiated in an international arbitration ruling by a court in The Hague in 2016. China refuses to recognize the ruling. Margot Robbie reveals story behind perfectly arched Barbie feet June 28, 202301:06