Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Vietnam on Tuesday to repeal its new cybersecurity law, saying that it violates the rights to free speech and freedom of expression. Vietnam’s new law, set to come into effect on December 25, builds on existing legislation to impose stricter rules surrounding internet use and freedom of speech.
Vietnam’s current statute, the Cybersecurity Law, came into force on June 12, 2018, and prohibits criticism of or opposition to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, “distortion of the history of revolutionary achievements, undermining national solidarity” and “blasphemy”, among others. The new law, Decree 147, will tighten these provisions, especially concerning overseas businesses.
Vietnamese users will be required to provide their phone or ID card numbers when accessing overseas social media companies and businesses under the new rules, raising concerns that the rule aims to expose dissidents who may previously have posted anonymously. News reports and interviews are not permitted to be shared on social networking platforms, and internet providers will be required to “self-police” by removing any content deemed illegal within 24 hours. Activists have expressed concern that these stricter rules will impact the “citizen journalism movement,” where blog posts are used to engage with political issues and news.
Vietnamese authorities claim that these laws aim to preserve the country’s “morals, customs and traditions”, however, HRW asserts that these objectives are being “misused” to “repress political dissent.” HRW associate Asia director Patricia Gossman criticized the new decree:
Vietnam’s new Decree 147 and its other cybersecurity laws neither protect the public from any genuine security concerns nor respect fundamental human rights. Because the Vietnamese police treat any criticism of the Communist Party of Vietnam as a national security matter, this decree will provide them with yet another tool to suppress dissent.
HRW noted that Vietnam is due to host a UN ceremony for the new Convention Against Cybercrime, which the rights group deemed “problematic” in light of the new decree. HRW urged that the “rights-violating decree” and the Cybersecurity Law be repealed. It also called for the immediate release of anyone imprisoned for “exercising their free speech rights on the internet.”
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights outlines the protection of freedoms of opinions and expression, and states that the freedom of “a free, uncensored and unhindered press or other media is essential in any society”.
Vietnam has repeatedly been criticized for its increasing government crackdown on journalists and the freedom of speech and press. Since mid-August 2024, Vietnamese courts have sentenced at least nine human rights activists, including, Tran Van Khanh, and Nguyen Vu Binh, to lengthy prison terms under Article 117 of the Penal Code for their advocacy of freedom of expression and social justice.
