[news] Latest news about Internet regulations in VN

[AnHai Doan <anhai@cs.washington.edu>]

The latest news about regulating Internet in VN!

Please pay attention to this part:

                 ...The computer networks of
                 "legislative, executive, justice, research,
                 training and administrative organizations" are
                 "not allowed" to connect with the Internet,
                 according to article one of the new
                 regulations...

I got a glimse of this in
"The new regulation on Internet by the Ministry of Culture and Info"

----------------------
Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1
...
2. All the networks of National law making, law enforcement, justice,
RESEARCH, EDUCATION, administrative organizations and National archives 
are not allowed to be connected to the Internet.
-----------------------

Does this mean that our universities and research institutes in Vietnam 
will not have access to the Internet?

Does anyone have a full copy of the new regulation on Internet by the 
Ministry of Culture and Information?

-------------------------------------------

Wednesday - May 28, 1997 

                     Hanoi Issues Regulations For
                 Postings on Internet 

                 HANOI (DJ) -- The information age may
                 be dawning for some people in Vietnam. But
                 only after they fill out all the paperwork.

                 There's a lot of it. According to new
                 regulations issued by the Ministry of Culture
                 and Information, local Internet users --
                 Vietnamese and foreigners -- posting
                 information on a Web site must first submit
                 an application form, photocopies of a
                 business license and documents showing the
                 "purpose, project, price and details of the
                 information plan" for the site. Diplomats,
                 nongovernmental organizations, other
                 foreign organizations and foreign journalists
                 will have to get an additional permit from the
                 Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

                 If a license is issued, the prospective
                 information provider then has to submit it to
                 Vietnam Post and Telecommunications, or
                 VNPT. Access to the Internet requires a
                 license from VNPT in the first place;
                 downloading information from Web sites is
                 governed by an earlier set of equally onerous
                 rules.

                 Of course, all this is somewhat esoteric at the
                 moment, since only a few people in Vietnam
                 have access to the Internet. But industry
                 officials expect the government to open the
                 door to cyberspace a crack this year. (At the
                 moment, only a limited form of electronic
                 mail is available in Vietnam.)

                 Vietnamese and foreign businesses have
                 been gearing up for access to Web sites for
                 more than a year now, and many already
                 have Web pages designed and ready to run.
                 But some may not even get out of the
                 starting blocks. The computer networks of
                 "legislative, executive, justice, research,
                 training and administrative organizations" are
                 "not allowed" to connect with the Internet,
                 according to article one of the new
                 regulations.

                 And providing information that is
                 "inconsistent with the license" could lead to
                 the removal of the license, a fine or a jail
                 term, though the exact penalties aren't yet
                 clear.

                 That clause has some potential Web site
                 operators worried. Site information often
                 needs to be updated regularly, and the
                 question of whether that information is
                 inconsistent with the terms of the license
                 could be wide open to interpretation, says
                 Royce Matlock, sales manager for Digital
                 Equipment Corp. in Hanoi. "There's not a
                 great deal of understanding among officials
                 about how Internet services are provided," he
                 says, although he's quick to add that he is
                 "very pleased that these issues are being
                 addressed in the first place."

                 Indeed, these red-tape-rich regulations do
                 mark a small step toward a more liberal flow
                 of information. Just two years ago, the
                 government was opposed to allowing Internet
                 access altogether. And a clause at the end of
                 the new regulations says they can be
                 "updated" as conditions change. Of course,
                 that could always mean more restrictions.




 HANOI, Vietnam (Reuter) - Vietnam announced rules Tuesday  
preventing a range of state agencies from releasing information 
on the Internet and requiring diplomats and foreign 
organizations to seek approval to transmit information online. 
         A government decision reported by official media said  
legislative, judicial, research organizations and other state 
bodies would not be allowed to connect with the Internet. 
         Foreign diplomatic staff, international organizations and  
foreign news agencies would be required to seek approval from 
the Foreign and Culture Ministries in order to distribute 
information via the Internet. 
         Approval would be given in the form of a license, it said.  
         Vietnam currently forbids access to the Internet, but a  
state-monitored gateway for public use is expected to be opened 
later this year offering the Communist country access to the 
information superhighway for the first time. 
         At present the only access is through limited e-mail  
services run by state agencies. 
         Government officials say they are concerned about the  
possible inflow of material deemed subversive or harmful. 


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