On the morning of October 23, 2026, the Institute for European and American Studies in collaboration with the Faculty of International Relations and History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City successfully organized the domestic scientific seminar “Digital Capitalist State and Social Issues in the United States”. The seminar was attended by experts, scientists, and leaders of various units, notably Dr. Dang Xuan Thanh - Former Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Tuan Hung - Director of the Institute of Social Sciences of the Southern Region, Dr. Nguyen Tang Nghi - Director of the Faculty of International Relations and History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh - Senior Lecturer, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi, Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh - Project Lead, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Manh - Deputy Editor-in-Chief in charge of the Journal of European and American Studies, Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung - Director of the Center for Strategic and International Security Studies, Institute for European and American Studies, along with numerous delegates, lecturers, and students.
In her opening remarks, Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh extended her gratitude to the Faculty of International Relations and History for collaborating to organize the seminar, while posing the main discussion question regarding the relationship between state power and platform capitalist actors—a complex relationship as the state faces challenges in antitrust, data management, and privacy protection. According to Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh, the digital economy is giving rise to new forms of inequality and dependence associated with new means of production. On this basis, the seminar focused on identifying changes in the role, function, and governance methods of the U.S. state under the impact of digital capitalism, as well as the relationship between the state and technology corporations; clarifying social contradictions arising from the digitalization process, where many forms of labor in the digital economy are unpaid, thereby determining the role and function of the state; and drawing from the U.S. experience references and policy implications for Vietnam.
Photo: Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh - Institute for European and American Studies
Speaking as the chairperson, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh emphasized that we are all currently living within digital capitalism itself, so the seminar holds high theoretical and practical value for all professional positions. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh highlighted a paradox: users are provided with many free digital services, while digital companies are becoming increasingly wealthy. So what price have users paid to obtain those services? That price is not money, but personal data, intelligence, and time. From there, the delegate raised questions about social and security impacts, as well as challenges for the world in general.
Photo: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Hong Hanh - Senior Lecturer, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi
Starting the presentation session, Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung presented his paper “The Role of the State in the Development of Digital Capitalism in the United States”. Citing the BBC’s TechLife podcast about data labelers and content moderators at major tech companies being laid off, as well as humanoid robots supporting remote surgery, the author asked how technology has changed us and whether robots will become a new force in social development. In terms of approach, the paper adheres to Marxist-Leninist political economy, focusing on the ownership of means of production, surplus value exploitation, and corporations harvesting user data without payment. According to Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung, digital capitalism is monopolistic, concentrating capital in a few large corporations and linked to state monopoly. From the lens of international political economy and Susan Strange’s concept of structural power, the author points out the close connection between the public and private sectors through cloud computing and control over the semiconductor industry.
According to the paper, the expansion of large technology corporations is closely tied to the supporting role of the U.S. state. Due to the requirement for massive capital, the government has funded research through defense programs, and many core technologies in current smart devices originated there. Subsequently, the state built legal infrastructure with two acts to reduce legal risks for businesses. Since 2020, facing supply chain disruptions and U.S.-China competition, the U.S. shifted to a hidden intervention mechanism, typified by the CHIPS Act under President Joe Biden along with federal policies on AI. This shows that the market mechanism cannot resolve the issues raised on its own, while demonstrating the state's proactive, capital-accumulation-directing role. The paper thereby identifies four prominent social issues: illegal monopoly status and high market concentration of digital platforms, which limit technological development; the surveillance and commercialization of user data without a comprehensive privacy law; the unstable status of platform labor, making it difficult for them to access social security; and inequality in access to infrastructure, costs, education, and public services.
When comparing with Japan, Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung noted that the U.S. tends toward surveillance capitalism, exploiting data to personalize advertising, while Japan focuses on data governance. The flexible U.S. economic model pushes risks onto laborers, while Japan tilts more toward social security; social subsidies in the U.S. are unsustainable, while Japan targets all population groups. Nevertheless, the author raised an open question as to whether the Japanese model is truly superior. From there, Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung concluded that the digital market always has state intervention, and the state will continue to restructure the market using tools like subsidies and taxes. However, the fundamental contradiction in value distribution persists, as most of the value belongs to the private sector.
Photo: Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung presenting his paper “The Role of the State in the Development of Digital Capitalism in the United States”
Continuing the program, Dr. Nguyen Tuan Khanh - University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City presented his paper “Securitization and Redistribution of Platform Capital: The Role of the U.S. Digital Capitalist State through the Case of TikTok (2020-2026)”. The author pointed out that the forces of production today have shifted from factories and workers to data, digital platforms, and AI, thereby asking who truly owns these digital means of production. The paper uses three analytical lenses including securitization through technicalization, distributive desecuritization, and the digital capitalist state, in which the U.S. views TikTok as a major security issue. According to Dr. Nguyen Tuan Khanh, the TikTok case went through three stages. In the first stage, the executive branch attempted to ban the app through executive orders but was rejected due to lack of legal basis; by 2021, the issue was moved to a centralized risk regulation framework. By 2024, the case fell into a policy and legalization bottleneck, technical measures were set aside to shift to user protection acts. In the third stage, the case shifted to a commercial deal and settlement, through a series of executive orders to delay implementation, resulting in 80% of TikTok shares belonging to U.S. investors and sparking legal controversy. Compared to Project Texas, the difference in ownership is clear, meaning the security issue was resolved through a transaction. From this case, the author argues that the security threat (banning or forced divestment) led to capital redistribution through the transfer of shares and revenue. As new digital tools become the primary force of production creating future wealth, the question remains whether there is a change in class.
Photo: Dr. Nguyen Tuan Khanh presenting his paper “Securitization and Redistribution of Platform Capital: The Role of the U.S. Digital Capitalist State through the Case of TikTok (2020-2026)”
In the commentary session, Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Manh remarked that Vietnam is always interested in observing and evaluating the development of capitalism. If one only approaches it in the traditional way, there will be inexplicable bottlenecks, and each era has certain shifts. The open discussion session was vibrant with many multi-dimensional opinions. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Dung - University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City asked which role of the digital capitalist state is the most important; does the monopoly of large technology corporations have any relation to the current legal basis of the U.S., does the U.S. allow this monopoly situation to exist, and why does the U.S. take actions to ban TikTok. From a historical perspective, Dr. Dao Minh Hong - University of Economics and Finance Ho Chi Minh City commented that current research lacks the role of historical science in solving this problem, specifically the adaptation or resistance of the state to changes, as well as state policy in each industrial revolution. Dr. Dao Minh Hong argued that the country-by-country approach is not enough. Digital capitalism is transnational, not confined to the borders of each country, so a transnational and multi-disciplinary approach (economics, politics, society, state policy, culture, value systems, human rights) is needed to clarify the issue further.
Photo: Dr. Dao Minh Hong - University of Economics and Finance Ho Chi Minh City
Answering the questions, Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung argued that the U.S. state has three main functions: providing “seed capital” through funding basic research, creating legal mechanisms, and regulating society, of which the third function is not yet truly effective. Regarding monopoly, he argued that large technology corporations monopolize data, while the state does not yet have enough laws to prevent the concept of data monopoly. Regarding TikTok, Dr. Nguyen Tuan Khanh said that the U.S. faced two options: ban or nationalize. Banning would cause huge losses, while nationalization runs counter to the nature of a capitalist state. Therefore, the chosen solution was to share ownership of these means of production, keep the ownership structure for private U.S. businesses, and ensure the principles of a monopoly capitalist state. In the context of competition, winning a share of the ownership belongs to their right and is very important.
Photo: Dr. Nghiem Tuan Hung answering questions
In his closing remarks, Dr. Dang Xuan Thanh observed that the seminar delved deeper into the role of the state in every economy, especially the digital economy and the U.S. According to him, the state has a role in concentrating power, providing public goods, ensuring social order, and public administrative services. In digital capitalism, the state must also stabilize operations, ensure market failures do not occur, and perform protective functions. However, the state’s protection of ownership rights over data, cloud computing, and platforms remains controversial. Dr. Dang Xuan Thanh also raised the issue of distribution: to distribute, one must price first, but currently no one can price data, and there is no law defining whether data is an asset or not. Regarding the organization of production, large technology corporations almost dominate, and users have no bargaining power on price. Accordingly, Dr. Dang Xuan Thanh also issued warnings about technology bubbles and the concentrated power of interest groups.
Photo: Dr. Dang Xuan Thanh - Former Vice President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences
With multi-dimensional academic presentations and exchanges, the domestic scientific seminar “Digital Capitalist State and Social Issues in the United States” contributed to clarifying the role of the state in the process of digital capitalism development, as well as social issues arising from data monopoly, privacy, platform labor, and inequality in access. Thereby, the seminar not only added a theoretical basis for studying digital capitalism but also opened up important issues for identifying, comparing development models, and drawing lessons for Vietnam in the context of a rapidly growing digital economy.
Full photos: here
—
📌 For any inquiries about the program, please contact:
▸ Faculty of International Relations: qhqt@hcmussh.edu.vn
📌 Get the latest updates on the program at:
▸ Fanpage of the Faculty of International Relations: https://www.facebook.com/NganhQHQT/
