Communist Vietnam may fortify Internet firewall
HANOI - Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has been policing Internet use
more
closely, may further fortify its Internet firewall to block out
subversive
material and pornography, a government official said on Friday.
The Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper quoted Phan An Sa, deputy chief
inspector of
the Culture and Information Ministry, as urging Vietnam's Internet
access
providers to tighten firewalls to block subversive material.
Cyberspace usage in the southeast Asian country is already controlled,
and
some sites, such as those run by overseas dissident groups, are hard to
access.
Rights groups accused the government earlier this year of detaining
three
dissidents for publishing on the Internet pro-democracy texts and
criticism
of Vietnam's border agreements with China, a charge Hanoi has denied.
Last month the government also suspended the operations of a local Web
Site,
saying it had not registered with the authorities.
Sa told the newspaper that Internet service providers "need to stop
immediately (inbound subversive information) at the national gateway."
Vietnam has three state-run Internet access firms of which the largest
is
Vietnam Data Communication Co. About one million of Vietnam's 80 million
population surf the Net.
Sa, who headed a two-week nationwide inspection of Internet usage that
ended
on Wednesday, said Internet service providers must be responsible for
restricting users' access to "degenerating information" or pornographic
material.
Sa could not be reached for further comment.
In the interview, he said five types of information "which affect
national
security" had been discovered on the Internet, including outbound and
inbound transfers of anti- government materials and the use of
cyberspace
for fraud.
Sa said 70 percent of Internet users in Vietnam log in for chatting, 10
percent for games, 10 percent for e-mails and 10 percent for access to
Web
Sites, of which five percent mainly surfed "harmful sites containing
reactionary and sexual content."
No punishment has yet been set for the offences uncovered during the
crackdown but Sa said authorities should impose fines and increase
education
on Internet use for young people since most of those who surfed the net
were
between 14 and 24.
The Culture and Information Ministry is in charge of monitoring Internet
content in Vietnam, which is seeking to push an aggressive economic
agenda
and promote foreign investment while maintaining control over its
population.
Reuters - August 16, 2002
Vietnam proposes severe penalties for Internet cafe owners who allow customers to view anti- government websites
HANOI - Vietnam's communist government is proposing severe penalties for
Internet cafe owners who allow customers to visit anti-government or
pornographic websites, officials and state-controlled media said Friday.
Internet cafe owners will also need to obtain special licenses requiring
checks into their personal history, they said.
The proposals by the Ministry of Culture and Information follow a
three-week
inspection of Internet cafes in the country's 61 cities and provinces.
The government and ruling Communist Party, concerned by the increasing
numbers of Vietnamese who have access to news from outside sources, have
attempted in recent months to tighten control over information.
The inspections found that most customers in the estimated 4,000
Internet
cafes are students between the ages of 14 and 24, a ministry inspector
said.
About 70 percent use the Internet for chatting, 10 percent for games and
10
percent for e-mail, he said.
Only 10 percent surf websites, with half accessing sites with
anti-government or pornographic content, he said.
The inspections found that most Internet cafe owners have little
knowledge
of government regulations governing Internet use and do not control
their
customers' activities online, Friday's Lao Dong (Labor) newspaper quoted
Phan An Sa, the ministry's deputy chief inspector, as saying.
Sa said the government should assign specific tasks to state agencies
and
cafe owners to prevent access to "poisonous and harmful" information.
State-owned Vietnam Data Communications Co., currently Vietnam's only
Internet gateway, should block as much anti-government information as
possible, while the Ministry of Public Security should provide it with
updated lists of websites containing such information, Sa said.
Sa said owners of Internet cafes would be severely punished if they
allowed
customers to visit anti-government or pornographic sites. He did not
elaborate.
Many Vietnamese, including those overseas, use the Internet to share
information and opinions about the government and political system.
Earlier this month, the ministry shut down a popular website,
TTVNOnline.com, for carrying information critical of the government.
In February, computer science lecturer Le Chi Quang was arrested for
writing
an essay criticizing concessions made by Vietnam in a border agreement
with
China and posting it on the Internet.
Quang will be tried on charges of violating national security, Foreign
Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh said Thursday.
Vietnam's constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, but
in
practice both are significantly restricted. All media are controlled by
the
government.
The Associated Press - August 16, 2002
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