New report on internet filtering in vietnam
David A Biggs <david.biggs@ucr.edu>
date Jan 11, 2007 8:24 AM
subject [Vsg] fyi: new report on internet filtering in vietnam
For those interested in reports on the internet in Vietnam, I heard a
recent podcast of PRI's "The World" (#115) where they interview John
Paulfrey (Harvard Law School) who co-authored a new report. You can
find the complete report on Open Net Initiative's web site:
http://www.opennetinitiative.org/
and the "technology" podcasts (#115) of The World can be found at:
http://www.theworld.org/?q=taxonomy/term/5
The general conclusion is that while Vietnam has a very extensive
censorship program online, there is a a relatively open debate in
government on these policies. Here's the ONI summary:
"In a recently issued report, ONI finds an increase in Internet
censorship in Vietnam. Drawing from technical, legal, and political sources, ONI’s
research finds that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is focusing its
filtering on sites considered threatening to its one-party system.
Furthermore, the technical sophistication, breadth, and effectiveness
of Vietnam’s filtering are increasing with time. Similar to China, Vietnam
has taken a multi-layered approach to controlling the Internet; Vietnam
applies technical controls, the law, and education to restrict its citizens’
access to and use of information. Vietnam is carrying out this filtering with
a notable lack of transparency - while Vietnam claims its blocking
efforts are aimed at safeguarding the country against obscene or sexually
explicit content, most of its filtering efforts target sites with politically or
religiously sensitive material that could undermine Vietnam’s one-party
system. This is the latest in a series of case studies that address
Internet filtering by states worldwide."