During Vietnam’s COVID-19 lockdown last year, blogger Bui Van Thuan took to Facebook to criticize the government’s plans to use soldiers to deliver groceries to people trapped in their homes in Ho Chi Minh City.
Key Point:
- Vietnam arrests dozens of journalists and bloggers over social media posts
- Rights groups fear ‘digital repression’ could have serious consequences
- Elections looming in multiple Asian countries, warning of further online restrictions
A few days later he was arrested.
Thuan, a 41-year-old teacher in the northern province of Hoa Binh, was sentenced last month to eight years in prison for propaganda and was given five years’ probation.
Vietnamese authorities have charged Tuan with “creating, storing, disseminating, or disseminating information, materials, or products intended to oppose the state.”
According to human rights groups, the fees are increasingly being applied to online content as states take greater control of the internet.
“The Vietnamese government has long dominated the country’s traditional media,” said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch.
“Now they are trying to control the online space.
“They passed many laws to that end, deployed state agencies to track people online, and used cyber trolls to control internet access, thereby moderating and removing content on their platforms. is forcing the decision of
Tuan is the latest target in Vietnam’s growing internet dominance, with authorities arresting dozens of journalists and bloggers, as well as a popular noodle shop, on similar charges.
Vietnamese authorities last month tightened regulations to deal with “false” content on social media platforms, saying it must be removed within 24 hours.
This has made the Southeast Asian country one of the world’s most tightly controlled regimes for social media companies.
But Vietnam is not alone.
Online censorship will reach a record high in 2022, with record numbers of governments blocking political, social, or religious content, according to Freedom House, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit.
The rise of “digital oppression” is severely impacting basic rights such as freedom of expression, access to information and privacy, with dire consequences “especially for those living under authoritarian regimes”. in its annual report.
“In some countries, it is intended to limit the voices of political dissidents, activists and other critics of the government,” said the Southeast Asian Free Expression Network (SafeNet), a digital rights group. said Damar Juniarto, executive director of
“But the government also wants to control big tech companies. They think they are too powerful and too influential.”
‘Harsh’ timeframes for government crackdown
More than three-quarters of the world’s more than 4.5 billion internet users live in countries where authorities punish online expression, according to Freedom House.
Elsewhere in Asia, Indonesia this year asked social media platforms to remove content deemed illegal or “disturbing public order” within four hours if it was urgent, and within 24 hours otherwise. established a rule requiring that
Those who do not comply may face fines, criminal prosecution, or a domestic block.
The new penal code also tightened controls on so-called “fake news” and insulting the president online.
Vietnam’s Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung told parliament that the new law was needed because of the risk of “fake news spreading very widely if we take it slow.”
Companies that do not meet the deadline may be banned from the platform.
Meanwhile, Singapore last month passed an online safety bill that requires social media sites to block “harmful content” within hours.
India raised concerns about censorship in October by announcing it would set up a government panel to investigate user complaints about content moderation decisions by social media platforms.
And in Thailand, a new law that went into effect this month allows authorities to force online service providers and social media platforms to remove content within as little as 24 hours without a court order.
Digital rights groups Access Now and Article 19 said in a statement that the short time frame for takedowns was “harsh” and “puts platforms under unreasonable time pressure to respond and induces inattentiveness. ” he said.
Thai officials say the new rules are necessary for national security and “public safety.”
Growing Asian market for social media
Populous Asian countries constitute a large market for social media platforms.
India has over 400 million Facebook users and nearly 500 million YouTube users. There are approximately 176 million Facebook users and approximately 139 million YouTube users in Indonesia.
According to SafeNet’s Juniarto, the crackdown on online content that has accelerated during the pandemic in the guise of curbing disinformation is an attempt by Asian governments to curb big tech companies.
“With elections coming up in several countries, we can expect more restrictions online,” he said.
“These are big and growing markets for platforms, so they have to think about how they handle these new regulations and stronger government controls.”
Facebook’s parent company Meta and Alphabet’s YouTube did not respond to requests for comment on the new law.
A company official previously told Reuters it was concerned about compliance and possible government overreach with online content.
Tuan’s wife, Trinh Thi Nhuong, said authorities in Vietnam were “clearly tougher” with the new rules.
She was told to limit her social media posts about her husband, and she and her family were monitored both online and offline.
“I’m very worried,” said Nung, who makes a living selling honey.
Vietnamese authorities said they found more than 100 articles posted by Tuan on two Facebook accounts.
Ms Nhung claims her husband is innocent, saying authorities were unable to prove that the Facebook account cited in the accusation belonged to him.
“I am very sad, but I do not regret his actions,” she said, adding that it was hard for her and her 7-year-old daughter to be separated from Thuan.
“I trust him and I am proud of him, so I will always support him.”
Reuters
