Vietnam cracks down on 'harmful' internet use
HANOI - Communist-ruled Vietnam has ordered local authorities to inspect
Internet usage in its two biggest cities in a crackdown on "harmful
information" from cyberspace, officials said on Tuesday. A spokesman at
the
Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications (DGPT) told Reuters
the
scrutiny, which started last week, would be nationwide after initially
targeting the capital city Hanoi and commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City.
"It is our policy to prevent (access to) harmful information on the net,
but
at the same time to encourage local people to use the Internet," the
spokesman for the telecom regulator said.
"DGPT and the culture ministry have guided the content for inspection
and
local cultural inspectors would cooperate with police to check all
public
Internet service accesses (cafes)."
No definition was provided on what the state deems as harmful
information,
but subversive and pornographic material are banned.
About one million of Vietnam's 80 million population surf the Internet.
An official at the Ministry of Culture and Information, which censors
Internet content, confirmed the crackdown has started, but added the
ministry had not reviewed inspection results.
It was not clear how long the inspections would last.
In opening up the telecoms market, Vietnam has licensed three firms to
provide Internet access but have kept the gateways state controlled.
The tighter curbs on cyberspace are not the first in the Southeast Asian
country, which is seeking to push an aggressive economic agenda and
promote
foreign investment while maintaining control over its population.
Earlier this year, the government detained three dissidents for
publishing
on the Internet pro-democracy texts and criticism of Vietnam's border
agreements with China. In addition, official media have warned about
teenagers using the Internet to download pornography.
On Wednesday, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the culture ministry
has
suspended a Web site designed as a forum for Vietnamese youth, as the
hosts
had not registered and some materials carried by the site "were wrongful
and
violated the press law."
Vietnam has 12 licensed Internet Service Providers but only four have
begun
operating. The fifth, a military-run firm, plans to launch later this
month.
Reuters - August 7, 2002
Vietnam to tighten control of Internet cafes
HANOI - The Vietnamese government has called for tighter control of
Internet
cafes and stricter enforcement of regulations that limit dissent, state
media reported Saturday.
Severe punishments will be levied against violators, particularly those
who
abuse the Internet to download and spread "poisonous and harmful"
information, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said.
Regulations prohibit using the Internet to spread pornographic or
anti-government information.
The Directorate General of Post and Telecommunications, the state
regulatory
body, has asked provincial governments throughout the country to
strengthen
inspections and control of public Internet cafes, the newspaper said.
In June, the communist government instructed authorities in southern Ho
Chi
Minh City to strengthen controls against anti-government materials
posted by
"hostile forces" on the Internet.
Also, the Ministry of Culture and Information recently proposed that
owners
of Internet cafes be responsible for monitoring their customers' use of
the
Internet.
Some Vietnamese living overseas and as well as dissidents inside the
country
use the Internet to circulate documents critical of the government.
Two dissidents have been detained recently for posting anti-government
materials on the Internet. Phan Hong Son was detained for translating a
U.S.
State Department article "What is democracy?" and posting it on the
Internet, while Lam Chi Quang was arrested for posting an article
critical
of Vietnam's concessions in its 1999 land border deal with China.
Vietnam has about 4,000 public Internet cafes, according to the Ministry
of
Culture and Information.
The Associated Press - August 3, 2002
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