Vietnam Tightens Grip on Internet With Data-Storage Law
12 June 2018 - 9:05PM
Dow Jones News
By James Hookway
Vietnam's plans to vigorously police the internet took a step
forward Tuesday when it adopted a cybersecurity law that requires
internet companies such as Facebook and Google to store their
Vietnam-based users' data on servers in the country.
Critics say the new law could make it easier for authorities in
the one-party communist state to track down critics online.
Legislation passed by the National Assembly also requires internet
companies to open offices in the country, which they have been
hesitant to do.
Last year, China enacted a law requiring that cloud data from
China-based consumers be stored in the country, sparking worries
about privacy. And Vietnam has steadily increased scrutiny of what
is posted online as Facebook's reach has grown.
Both Facebook Inc. and Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., have long
flagged their opposition to the law through the Asia Internet
Coalition, which also includes companies such as Apple Inc., Yahoo
and Twitter Inc. The group has warned that the measures could deter
investment and undermine local businesses that have profited from a
boom in social media in recent years
The U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, meanwhile, warned last week that the
law "might not be consistent with Vietnam's international trade
commitments, " notably with the World Trade Organization.
Tuesday's vote at the National Assembly, which is widely
regarded as a rubber stamp for the government, was conducted amid
strict security, with police placing barricades at the roads
leading to the building. Vietnam has seen a surge in protests in
recent days over plans to allow foreign companies 99-year land
leases at strategic sites. Many of the thousands demonstrators who
took to the streets of Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other cities
said they were worried that companies from Vietnam's historic
rival, China, would use the proposals to get a foothold in the
country.
In some areas, cars were torched outside police stations. The
government pledged to review the plans.
Some of the demonstrators had also railed against the
cybersecurity law, but there was little prospect of Vietnam's
government relenting on that measure.
Late last year, Hanoi introduced a new 10,000-strong cyber unit
called Force 47 to patrol the web to counter what it described as
any "wrongful opinions" about the government.
The country has increased the penalties for anyone using
Facebook as a platform to attack the government.
In November, a young blogger was given a seven-year prison
sentence for "spreading propaganda against the state." Another,
Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, has begun a hunger strike against her
treatment in prison, according to her mother. Ms. Quynh was
sentenced to a 10 years in June last year for protesting the
government's inaction on environmental issues.
Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 12, 2018 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT)
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