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Total control of the Internet is impossible

The Vietnamese government seems to be trying to stamp its authority over electronic communications; this is a ridiculous move that will inflame anger and ultimately fail

The Jakarta Post
Bangkok
Fri, August 9, 2013

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Total control of the Internet is impossible

T

he Vietnamese government seems to be trying to stamp its authority over electronic communications; this is a ridiculous move that will inflame anger and ultimately fail.

The Vietnamese government will cover the whole sky with its small hands by issuing a new law to control and clean up public information disseminated via the Internet. Hanoi is set to enact new legislation, known as Decree 72, to criminalise the use of social media for anything other than to "provide or exchange personal information".

The law, if it comes into force by next month as foreseen, would ban individuals from quoting or sharing information from press or government agencies. Internet service providers, under this law, would be prohibited from handling information that could be deemed as "against Vietnam".

The law also demands that all foreign websites have at least one server in Vietnam, which will give the Vietnamese authorities greater control of content.

If the law is effective, communication via the Internet will consist only of chat, messages, blogs and Facebook and Twitter postings about personal and family matters. Anything deemed "public affairs" will be off-limits.

This is ridiculous. It is highly controversial for any government to issue a law that bans people from sharing information, especially information that is being publicised by government agencies in the first place.

Vietnam has a poor record when it comes to freedom of expression, both online and offline. Reporters Without Borders ranks the country 172nd out of 179 in its press-freedom index, ahead of only China, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea when it comes to respecting media liberty.

Although Vietnam has no solid reputation for the protection of human rights or democratic principles, it is still expected to at least allow space for people to have a certain degree of freedom of expression and a right to know about current events.

It is no secret that the authorities screen all information disseminated to the public media in Vietnam. Therefore what is the point of barring people from sharing such information?

The government in Hanoi will find it difficult to achieve anything with this move, but if its intent is to further curtail the rights of its people and hinder its chance of fully integrating with global development, then it is doing a good job.

Vietnam, although it still calls itself a communist state, has been open to the world for decades, ever since the "doi moi" policy was initiated. The spirit of doi moi is openness, but openness means allowing people to know what they want to know and what is necessary for them to know.

Freedom of communication and the right to information is a basic requirement of any country in the modern world. Vietnam is now working toward integration into the Asean Economic Community. How can Vietnamese citizens learn about and understand the situation in the region and the wider world if they're not allowed to share information? How can they understand the maritime disputes in the South China See if their government allows them to share only pictures of dinner or stories about their love affairs?

Control of Internet communication is an impossible mission for any government. The United States is leaning this at enormous cost. Any government that wants total control over the Internet needs a huge budget, resources and manpower to monitor every information transaction - and, more sinisterly, a deep and wilful distrust of its own citizens. It will realise eventually that such an effort is useless.

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