Laos to Curb Social Media Content Eroding Lao Culture, PM Says

This Week

Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone has urged the Ministry of Culture and Torurism to introduce new legislation to curb and monitor content online that violates Lao customs and traditions.

Speaking at the National Culture and Tourism Work Summary Conference on 7 April, PM Sonexay said social media is damaging how Lao culture is portrayed, and that young people in particular are bearing the brunt of it.

According to him, negative content on new media platforms is pulling young Lao people toward foreign practices and away from their own traditions.

He called on the ministry to put in place legal measures to manage and limit what he described as a phenomenon of cultural degradation.

The push for updated legislation comes as digital and social media platforms continue to grow rapidly across the country.

Beyond media regulation, the PM also laid out other priorities for the ministry this year, including tightening up political and ideological work, trimming down government bureaucracy, and working more closely with local authorities to strengthen cultural values at the community level.

Tourism

On tourism, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of integrating culture into tourism as an experience that can be sold and enjoyed by visitors, rather than just preserved.

He called for the renovation and development of services at national museums across provinces to make them living places of learning for both local communities and international visitors.

He also directed the ministry to promote Lao tourism potential, including cultural, historical and natural attractions, in a sustainable and community-inclusive way, and to plan activities with the participation of multiple stakeholders to stimulate tourism growth.

Latest article