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In 2014, men use tablets and laptops to view news via Wi-Fi at a coffee shop in Hanoi. Nearly half of the Vietnamese population of over 95 million residents has access to the Internet. A new and controversial cybersecurity law comes into effect on January 1, 2019.
HOANG DINH NAM / AFP / Getty Images
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HOANG DINH NAM / AFP / Getty Images
Men use tablets and laptops to view news via Wi-Fi at a Hanoi café in 2014. Today, nearly half of Vietnam's population of more than 95 million people are in the city. inhabitants has access to the internet. New controversial cybersecurity law comes into effect Jan. 1, 2019.
HOANG DINH NAM / AFP / Getty Images
A new cybersecurity law has come into force in Vietnam. It imposes strict controls on technology companies operating inside the country and censors what its citizens read online.
The decree, adopted by the National Assembly in June 2018, obliges companies such as Facebook and Google to open offices in Vietnam, to store data on local users and to transmit information at the request of the government. This would also require social media companies to remove any content deemed offensive or "toxic".
Opponents of the law say it could hurt Vietnam's economic prospects and allow the one-party communist government to continue the crackdown on dissent and freedom of expression.
The Asia Internet Coalition (AIC) industry group told Reuters that the law would undermine Vietnam's ambitions for GDP and job growth.
"These provisions will impose severe restrictions on Vietnam's digital economy, curbing the climate and opportunities for local businesses and [small-to-medium-sized enterprises] to flourish in Vietnam and beyond," said Jeff Paine , general manager of AIC. According to Reuters, foreign trade and investment are essential components of the Vietnamese economy.
In a statement issued shortly after its adoption, Clare Algar, Director of Amnesty International Global Operations, said the power of the law "could have devastating consequences for freedom of expression" In Vietnam.
"This vote means that there is no safe place for people to talk freely," she said.
The Vietnamese government states that the law is necessary to fight against cybercrime such as cyber espionage and to prevent it. cyber terrorism. General Luong Tam Quang, head of the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security, said at a press conference in early November that the new law on cybercrime would align Vietnam with other countries that also want to protect the people. information from their national users and that this law is "in the capacity of companies."
Internet companies have a year to comply, despite requests from the technology company, reports Reuters. US lawmakers have even launched a call to Facebook and Google for that they do not comply with the law.
"The Cybersecurity Act in no way protects Internet users," wrote in a letter 17 members of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam. "It is rather a blatant effort by the Vietnamese government to crack down on online expression by appealing to big tech companies."
Google declined to immediately comment to NPR what the company plans to do about the law now that it is being enforced. Facebook also did not immediately return a NPR comment request. However, Facebook said earlier this month "to remain committed to its Vietnamese community and help Vietnamese companies grow at home and abroad," reports Voice of America.
A growing and young middle class in Vietnam attracts digital companies, reports Bloomberg. According to the World Bank, nearly half of the Vietnamese population uses the Internet, and the country has more than 60 million Facebook users. The new cyber security law comes into force a little over a year after Vietnam's deployment of a cyber unit of 10,000 people to combat "false opinions".
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