Vietnam’s new internet rules bad for free speech, business: users

By RFA Vietnamese2024.11.25

Read more on this topic in Vietnamese

As Vietnam gears up to tighten controls on an already heavily regulated internet with a new rule next month, users have been raising concerns that the government will be able to further restrict freedom of expression online and more closely track online businesses.

Offshore service providers such as social media companies and providers of app store services have to authenticate Vietnamese users by requiring their phone or ID card numbers under Decree 147, which will come into effect on Dec. 25.

“Account authentication helps authorities identify the real identity behind the account, providing good support for the investigation and handling of violations” Nguyen Tien Ma of the Communication Ministry’s Department of Cyber ​​Security told Vietnam Television.

But tighter restrictions are not limited to foreign internet companies. Users of domestic social networking sites are prohibited from posting news reports and interviews.

An activist from Hanoi, who didn’t want to be identified, told Radio Free Asia this will prevent the revival of a previously strong citizen journalism movement, which used blogs to provide news and commentary on political issues.

Taxing online marketers

Decree 147 expands the scope of content supervision, putting the onus even further on internet providers to self-police by monitoring and removing content deemed illegal by Vietnamese authorities.

The new rules include monitoring of content in livestreams and online advertising, which are used by companies and individuals in Vietnam to sell products to millions of people.

One businesswoman from the city of Hung Yen told RFA the decree was good for the government and bad for companies who haven’t been declaring their Vietnamese revenue.

“Online sales are so popular now, everyone can sell online, so how can the government ignore such a lucrative opportunity? They have to track down the sellers to collect taxes,” she said.

However, some online businesses do not know about the decree and its implications for them. RFA called two online fashion store owners in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Both said they were completely unaware of how Decree 147 would affect their livestream marketing business.

Existing management tools

Since the promulgation of the Cybersecurity Law in 2018, the government has issued three decrees related to the management, provision and use of internet services and online information: Decree 27 in 2018, Decree 53 in 2022 and Decree 147, which was issued on Nov. 9, to take effect in 90 days.

When the Cybersecurity Law was first enacted, many human rights activists said it was a tool to suppress freedom of speech rather than to protect national security.

The law prohibits the use of cyberspace to “oppose the state, spread false information that causes public confusion, offends others, [and] violates national security.”

Businesses must delete information deemed illegal upon request of the government. If they don’t, their service in Vietnam will be suspended. Internet users can be fined for spreading false information and may be prosecuted for anti-state propaganda.

Decree 27 expanded the scope of monitoring to include misleading and untrue information that is considered “bad or toxic” but “not yet illegal.”

Decree 53 further tightened content on content related to national security, which must be removed within 24 hours if deemed a threat.

The rules require social network providers to utilize technology to automatically detect and warn of prohibited behavior. Enterprises must also report to authorities every three months on the status of content monitoring.

RFA emailed Google, along with Meta and its Facebook media representatives in Vietnam to ask about the new regulations but did not immediately receive a response.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn.