VIETNAM freedom of speech & the INTERNET Free Journalists Association of Vietnam.

VIETNAMfreedom of speech &

the INTERNET

VIETNAMfreedom of speech &

the INTERNET

Free Journalists Association of Vietnam Free Journalists Association of Vietnam

1. Current situation

2. Role of the Internet in the struggle for Freedom of Speech

3. Future directions

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

The constitution and the criminal code contain national security and antidefamation provisions to restrict the media;

All media outlets are under the control of the communist party (5 TV's, 500 newspapers).

Current situation Role of the internet Future directions

Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Journalists cannot cover certain sensitive matters or openly criticize the single-party rule;

Journalists who overstep the bounds of permissible reporting are subjected to:o Harassment;

o Termination of employment and no chance of prospective job;

o Closing down their newspaper;

o House arrest;

o Imprisonment.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Reporter Trang Dung with his wound after being attacked while doing his job.





o House arrest;

o Imprisonment.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Journalist Phuong Thao at the place where she was handcuffed by State Police.





o House arrest;

o Imprisonment.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Reporter Do Van Khanh was attacked and his camera was broken in half by State police while doing his job.





o House arrest;

o Imprisonment.

2 million Internet subscribers;

10 million Internet users (GlobalComms Database) -

12% of the population. 35% by 2010;

5,000 websites (Vietnamwebsite.net).

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

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Current Situation - The Internet

Owners of domestic Web sites must submit the content to the government for approval;

The firewalls were put in place by government-owned Vietnam Data Communication Co (VDC) starting July 1998;

The country's five Internet service providers must route all their traffic through VDC's network.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Many Internet users' activities are monitored by police;

House search and confiscation of personal PC are constant;

Online discussion and reading banned web sites on democracy can cause harassment or imprisonment.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Vietnam was marked as one of 15 Enemies of the Internet by the Reporters Without Borders.

Reporters Without Borders' fourth annual World Press Freedom Index ranks Vietnam 158th out of 167 countries without press freedom.

Vietnam was marked as one of 15 Enemies of the Internet by the Reporters Without Borders.

Reporters Without Borders' fourth annual World Press Freedom Index ranks Vietnam 158th out of 167 countries without press freedom.


Current Situation

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Changing the Media LandscapeChanging the Media Landscape


Role of the internet in the struggle for Freedom of Speech

Pre-internet: o Hardcopy only, hence a limited audience and mostly

regional;

o Not much competition since all sources of news are the same due to government's ownership.

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet



With Internet:

Electronic media going world-wide. Anyone in VN and abroad can choose various carriers of information to read;

Reaching out to a wider audience and erasing the geographical boundary;

Online newspaper can publish more news than the hard-copy version resulting in extra information;

Due to more competition, online media is pressured to be more daring and bolder in their publication; thus, pushing the permission line by default.

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet




Online media is free, fast, with more audience, more

news, and bolder.

The internet by itself produces an unintended by-product: the

authorities lose its total control on media !

Online media is free, fast, with more audience, more

news, and bolder.

The internet by itself produces an unintended by-product: the

authorities lose its total control on media !

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet




vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

Changing the Public DiscourseChanging the Public Discourse

Pre-internet: o No way for a large group of people to meet for

discussion/exchange of ideas;o No way for people to meet nationwide, or for that

matter, worldwide.



vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

With Internet: o A growing number of web forum in Vietnam (on

various topics/theme) where anyone from anywhere in the world can join;

• Estimated number of forums: in the hundreds;• These forums still self-police to steer away from politics; • Some forum are owned, hosted in Vietnam. Others are

founded by students when they travel abroad to study;• Discussion groups: with free email like Yahoo, Hotmail,

Gmail, Vietnamese people can QUIETLY join a number of discussion groups.




vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

With Internet: o Eventhough public discourse is still limited to taboo

topics, more social issues surfaced via the Internet. Example: in 2005 people in diendantinhoc (IT forum) came together to bring to light a cheating incident in the annual Vietnam Intellectual Competition with the result of the winner's admission of cheating and being stripped of the title.


Other impacts of the Internet - in Vietnam

Other impacts of the Internet - in Vietnam



Maintaining group network and providing path ways to freedom of speech;

Enabling citizens to voice their views on national issues;

Strengthen connections among citizens, thereby building an autonomous site of public debate;

Effective communication to the outside world.vietna

mfreedo

m of

speech andthe

internet

Other impacts of the Internet - Outside Vietnam

Other impacts of the Internet - Outside Vietnam



Main communication channel between dissidents within VN and Vietnamese overseas;

Medium of information exchange: news, articles, electronic magazines from outside world to Vietnam via mass emailing;

News, articles, electronic magazines from Vietnam back to Vietnam via mass emailing.

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet


Approach 1: Never compete with the goverment in term of technical know-hows;

Approach 2: Make it look normal and KISS;

Approach 3: Immerse into a crowd;

Approach 4: Use 2 step-approach - one to one then one to many;

Approach 5: Combine various methods of communication (chat + messaging + phone + email);

Approach 6: Minimize the Internet infiltration.

vietnam

freedom of

speech andthe

internet

To resist against the government's control - Our approaches:

To resist against the government's control - Our approaches:

Future Directions


Future Directions

Alliance with international organizations who share the same goal (i.e. alert network for better protection; opportunities for joint initiatives ...);

Seeking support in capacity-building (i.e. training/funding/membership in existing alliances...);

Legally challenging the government by using the Vietnam's Constitution to go from underground to above ground.vietna

mfreedo

m of

speech andthe

internet

VIETNAM freedom of speech & the INTERNET Free Journalists Association of Vietnam.

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Transcript of VIETNAM freedom of speech & the INTERNET Free Journalists Association of Vietnam.