A law requiring Internet companies in Vietnam to remove content that the communist authorities deem to be against the state came into effect yesterday, in a move critics called “a totalitarian model of information control”.
The law comes into force a week after the Vietnam Journalists Association announced a new code of conduct on the use of social media by its members, forbidding reporters to post news, pictures and comments that “run counter to” the state.
According to a report on Straits Times, the new cyber-security law has received sharp criticism from the United States, the European Union and Internet freedom advocates who say it mimics China’s repressive censorship of the Internet.
The legislation requires Internet companies to remove content the government regards as “toxic”.
VNExpress, a local media reports, Tech giants such as Facebook and Google will also have to hand over user data if asked by the government, and open representative offices in Vietnam.
Read full article on Straits Times