New rules on creation of websites
All businesses and organizations must obtain a license from the
Vietnamese government upon setting up websites, pursuant to a new
regulation issued by the Ministry of Culture and Information (MoCI)
last week in an attempt by the government to tighten its control of
the Internet, as it fears the penetration of or contact with "harmful
information from outside."
The issuance of the new rule, which is contrary to what was discussed
during its drafting stage, was announced discreetly in a small column
in only two or three newspapers. Two of the most important political
newspapers in Vietnam, the Nhan Dan (The People) and Quan Doi Nhan Dan
(People's Army), contained no news about the regulation. The
regulation, however, does not mention whether or not websites about
Vietnam that have an overseas server must have license.
According to a cultural inspection report, one hundred percent of
public Internet access points (out of around 4,000 nationwide) violate
operation regulations and allow the dissemination of information
harmful to national security.
The government has urged the increased use of firewalls and updates on
the list of emails from outside the country which send anti-State and
Party documents, as well as the strict punishment of violators.
Earlier this year, a Vietnamese computer science lecturer was arrested
for writing and disseminating online an article criticizing the
Vietnam-China border agreement. A local doctor was also arrested after
he was found to have translated and disseminated a document from the
website of the US State Department condemning the lack of democracy in
Vietnam.
Vietnam now has 21 e-newspapers and magazines and two e-publishing
houses.
The total number of Internet subscribers in Vietnam currently stands
at 250,000 and the rate of Internet users makes up 1.26% of the
population, or over 1 million people, still lower than the world's
average of 11%.
Financial Times Information - October 15, 2002.
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