The Vietnamese government has come under fire this week for Decree 72 which is otherwise known as “Management, Provision, Use of Internet Services and Information Content Online”. This new Vietnamese law, coming into effect on September 1st, will effectively ban people from engaging online discussion about current events, with an emphasis involving Vietnam’s current affairs.

At its heart, the decree will outlaw citizens from posting anything that “harms national security and opposes the state.”

The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications says that the ban is being misinterpreted. The head of the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Online Information Section, Nguyen Thanh Huyen, said, “We never ban people from sharing information or linking news from websites… This is a normal decree which doesn’t go against any human right commitments.”

Ms. Huyen reportedly emphasized that Decree 72 is designed to protect intellectual property and copyright. Somehow, banning people from saying anything that could be considered critical of the government will protect intellectual property. I’m sure you’ll understand how I can’t come close to making that connection.

This move has been criticized by the United States embassy in Vietnam, the freedom of information and the press activist group Reporters Without Borders, and the Asia Internet Coalition, an industry association formed by eBay, Facebook, Google and Yahoo.

The introduction of Decree 72 isn’t a surprise. The Vietnamese government has a reported reputation for trying to maintain tight control of the country’s media. They have already convicted 46 activists, including online activists, for anti-state activity so far in 2013. In other words, Decree 72 is just more of the same from the Vietnamese government.

Source: Reuters, BBC