From AFP
Customers use computers and mobile phones at a coffee shop in Hanoi, on November 28, 2013 (AFP, Hoang Dinh Nam)
Hanoi — Vietnam has intensified a crackdown on online dissent with a new decree that threatens fines of several thousand dollars for anybody criticising the government on Facebook.
The legislation, which will come into force in January, looks set to further narrow the space for online expression in a country already branded an “enemy of the Internet” by Reporters Without Borders.
“A fine of up to $4,760 will be applied to anyone producing propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” according to a copy of “decree 174” posted on a government website.
Undermining national unity, “distorting historical facts” and writing comments on Facebook that “hurt the nation” have all also become administrative offences punishable by a sliding scale of fines.
Serious criticism of the government is already a criminal offence punishable by jail time under a slew of vaguely worded national security laws that have been heavily criticised by rights groups.
The new legislation appears to be an administrative means of punishing Facebook postings that may fall short of meeting requirements for criminal prosecution.
It applies both to individual Facebook users and organisations and enterprises providing social network (services),” according to the decree.
Fines will be lower for individual users.
Read the full story from AFP.
