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Censorship Government The Internet

Critics Decry Vietnam's 'Draconian' New Internet Law (theguardian.com) 18

Posted by BeauHD from the free-speech-fears dept.
Vietnam's Decree 147 mandates social media users on platforms like Facebook and TikTok to verify their identities and requires tech companies to store and share user data with authorities upon request, sparking concerns over increased censorship, self-censorship, and threats to free expression. Furthermore, the decree imposes restrictions on gaming time for minors and limits livestreaming to verified accounts. It becomes effective on Christmas Day. The Guardian reports: Decree 147, as it is known, builds on a 2018 cybersecurity law that was sharply criticized by the US, EU and internet freedom advocates who said it mimics China's repressive internet censorship. [...] Critics say that decree 147 will also expose dissidents who post anonymously to the risk of arrest. "Many people work quietly but effectively in advancing the universal values of human rights," Ho Chi Minh City-based blogger and rights activist Nguyen Hoang Vi told AFP.

She warned that the new decree "may encourage self-censorship, where people avoid expressing dissenting views to protect their safety -- ultimately harming the overall development of democratic values" in the country. Le Quang Tu Do, of the ministry of information and communications (MIC), told state media that decree 147 would "regulate behavior in order to maintain social order, national security, and national sovereignty in cyberspace." [...]

Human Rights Watch is calling on the government to repeal the "draconian" new decree. "Vietnam's new Decree 147 and its other cybersecurity laws neither protect the public from any genuine security concerns nor respect fundamental human rights," said Patricia Gossman, HRW's associate Asia director. "Because the Vietnamese police treat any criticism of the Communist party of Vietnam as a national security matter, this decree will provide them with yet another tool to suppress dissent."

Critics Decry Vietnam's 'Draconian' New Internet Law More | Reply

Critics Decry Vietnam's 'Draconian' New Internet Law

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  • You mean more draconian than how lately /. has been pushing ads?

    • You mean more draconian than how lately /. has been pushing ads?

      The penalty for basically every crime according to Draco, was death. In 6th Century BC. Let’s stop with the stupid “draconian” bullshit already. It’s been over 2,000 years since NO comparison has even come close. Hell. I’d welcome Godwin by comparison. And that’s saying some shit.

  • I see a net positive on this one. Sure there are down sides but overall but if I had to decide between oblivious harmless people stating personal view, and malicious actors trying to influence 100s of thousands, if not millions of people into believing a bunch of BS, I'll take the decree. Our personal soapboxes are not worth that much.
    • Nope. Given certain over-the-top USA media outlets are now being sold off -because the fake news was over scripted, as seen in the last election results. It was not identity that caused it - it was DEI ladled BS seen as pushing a barrow by gen Y and Z. Real ratings killed them. This will not work, as satellite connections grow. ALL western powers are peeved that internet can ruin expensive ad campaigns in the last 24 hours. How dare voters demand constant progress, and not last minute election semi-promise

      • America voted for authoritarian capitalism fair and square. They weren't tricked into anything by anybody, they knew exactly what they were getting with the new Republican Party.

  • After all China is a traditional enemy of Vietnam, I know they have fought wars...

  • Britain and Germany are little different.

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