[atlarge-discuss] Comment?

[DannyYounger@cs.com]

Eric, can you provide us with any informative updates on this story?

HANOI (Reuters) - Communist-ruled Vietnam has ordered local authorities to 
inspect Internet usage in its two biggest cities in a crackdown on "harmful 
information" from cyberspace, officials said on Tuesday. A spokesman at the 
Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications (DGPT) told Reuters the 
scrutiny, which started last week, would be nationwide after initially 
targeting the capital city Hanoi and commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City.

"It is our policy to prevent (access to) harmful information on the net, but 
at the same time to encourage local people to use the Internet," the 
spokesman for the telecom regulator said.

"DGPT and the culture ministry have guided the content for inspection and 
local cultural inspectors would cooperate with police to check all public 
Internet service accesses (cafes)."

No definition was provided on what the state deems as harmful information, 
but subversive and pornographic material are banned.

About one million of Vietnam's 80 million population surf the Internet.

An official at the Ministry of Culture and Information, which censors 
Internet content, confirmed the crackdown has started, but added the ministry 
had not reviewed inspection results.

It was not clear how long the inspections would last.

In opening up the telecoms market, Vietnam has licensed three firms to 
provide Internet access but have kept the gateways state controlled.

The tighter curbs on cyberspace are not the first in the Southeast Asian 
country, which is seeking to push an aggressive economic agenda and promote 
foreign investment while maintaining control over its population.

Earlier this year, the government detained three dissidents for publishing on 
the Internet pro-democracy texts and criticism of Vietnam's border agreements 
with China. In addition, official media have warned about teenagers using the 
Internet to download pornography.

On Wednesday, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the culture ministry has 
suspended a Web site designed as a forum for Vietnamese youth, as the hosts 
had not registered and some materials carried by the site "were wrongful and 
violated the press law."

Vietnam has 12 licensed Internet Service Providers but only four have begun 
operating. The fifth, a military-run firm, plans to launch later this month. +

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