Vietnam Tightens Grip on Internet With Data-Storage Law
Vietnam Tightens Grip on Internet With Data-Storage Law
New cybersecurity law requires internet companies to
store Vietnam-based users’ data on servers in the country
By James Hookway June 12, 2018 6:35 a.m. ET
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, in addition to
removing content within 24 hours at the government’s request.
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.
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