In most countries, using social media as a means to voice your displeasure of the government and/or policies is accepted and considered legal to a certain extent, but it seems that there are countries where it is not allowed, and Vietnam is one of them. This new law was announced this week and will see citizens arrested and fined if they were to post on social media where they criticize the government. While the law itself is fairly vague (perhaps purposely so), it states that it will punish those who use social media to spread propaganda against the state or spread reactionary ideologies.
There are those who oppose this new law, with the US Embassy in Hanoi expressing their deep concern and has reached out the Vietnamese officials, stating, “Fundamental freedoms apply online just as they do offline.” Nonprofit organizations such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation have also spoken out against this on their blog, claiming that “Internet freedom has gone from bad to worse in Vietnam.” We’re not sure if the Vietnamese government will change their mind or stance on this matter even when faced with pressure from the outside, but in the meantime it looks like bloggers and journalists who might not be fans of the current government will have to watch what they say.
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