Vietnam Authorities Tighten Controls On Internet Bloggers
Wonder if Pelosi is trying to take a page from their playbook:
… to control views seen as opposing the state or undermining national security, with an edict asking online service providers to provide data on users.
The Internet has given Vietnamese people a means to express themselves that can’t be found in traditional media, which are closely controlled by the communist authorities.
The country has a flourishing Web log or blog community - but the government said earlier this month it wants closer regulation.
A new circular, a copy of which was seen by journalists Wednesday, says blogs must display private content and not “provide, transmit or have direct links” to information that would violate another regulation from earlier this year.
That regulation bans online behavior that “opposes the state” or “undermines national security and social order and safety.”
It also prohibits material that causes conflict, or that discloses national security, military or economic secrets.
The Thanh Nien newspaper said earlier this month that authorities would contact Internet giants Google Inc. (GOOG) and Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) for their cooperation “in creating the best and healthiest environment for bloggers.”
The new circular asks “enterprises specialized in providing social online services” to build databases on blogs under their supervision, and to provide information to authorities upon request, as well as to eliminate content that might contravene regulations.
Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders lists Vietnam as among the “enemies of the Internet,” with censorship practices “almost as thorough as those of its Chinese big sister.”
Nevertheless, criticism of authorities has emerged online in the past year, notably over the way Hanoi is handling a territorial dispute with Beijing in the South China Sea.
Both nations claim sovereignty over the Spratly and Paracel islands. The dispute triggered rare demonstrations in Hanoi