Facebook will produce the new generation of its Oculus VR headset in Vietnam, joining to a litany of tech companies moving their production to the country. This was confirmed by Simon Miller, Facebook’s vice president of public policy for Asia-Pacific, during his meeting with Vietnamese government officials in Hanoi yesterday, as reported by local media.
According to Miller, Facebook is actively seeking partners in the country for “hardware production” to diversify its global supply chain. Other tech companies have already made similar moves, such as Apple with its AirPods or Nintendo with its Switch console.
Facebook had a slew of meetings with government officials this week, and part of the discussion also focused on “toxic content,” which is the government’s primary concern regarding social networks and content-hosting platforms. Earlier this year, Facebook intensified its content restriction in Vietnam at the government’s request.
Vietnam passed a cybersecurity law in June 2018, requesting tech giants like Google and Facebook to open offices in Vietnam and meet new requirements for data storage. But so far, no decree guiding the law’s implementation has been issued.
Facebook is still the dominant social media platform in the country despite a slew of local networks going online this year. It accounts for more than half of all social media usage in Vietnam.
