Huy Đào, an entrepreneur in Ho Chi Minh City, thought he had nailed the perfect TikTok: informative, playful, and ultimately harmless. Instead, he wound up fueling TikTok’s escalating clash with the Vietnamese government.
In March last year, the 29-year-old had posted a lighthearted video critiquing “useless” college degrees like business administration. “You can only work in sales or marketing, and any major is good enough for these jobs,” he said with a grimace.
The video went viral, then died away. It took off again this March ahead of college application season, spawning its own trend where creators listed unwise degree choices.
This time, Vietnamese state media loudly denounced the content. The head of state broadcasting, Lê Quang Tự Do, condemned the trend publicly as “giving nonsense advice.” Huy’s video was seen to be critical of the…
