Vietnam has ordered tech companies to store user data offshore.

An Internet user browses the new Facebook page of the Vietnamese government in Hanoi on Dec. 30, 2015.

Hanoi Aug 18, 2010 Vietnam’s government has ordered tech companies to store their users’ data locally and set up local offices, the latest move to strengthen cybersecurity laws.

The new law, issued in a decree on Wednesday, will apply to social media companies such as Alphabet Inc’s Google ( GOOGL.O ) and Meta’s Facebook ( META.O ) and telecommunications operators, and will take effect on Oct. 1.

“All Internet users’ data, from financial records and biometric data to people’s ethnicity and political views, or any information generated by users when they visit the Internet, must be stored locally,” the decree said.

Authorities will have the right to request data collection for investigative purposes and require service providers to remove content found to be in violation of government guidelines, the decree added.

Foreign companies will need 12 months to establish local data storage and representative offices after receiving instructions from the Minister of Public Security, and must store the data offshore for at least 24 months, according to the decree.

Two tech companies contacted by Reuters, Google and Meta, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Vietnam is ruled by the Communist Party, which maintains strict media censorship and tolerates little dissent. It has strengthened internet laws over the past few years with the Cyber ​​Security Act, which came into effect in 2019, and national guidelines on social media behavior introduced in June last year.

Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Kanpriya Kapoor

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.