|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) unveiled a draft decree earlier this year concerning the management, provision, and use of internet services, slated to replace the existing Decree 72. Under the proposed regulations, social networks will be required to remove content that violates the rules, with corresponding measures taken against offending accounts, community pages, and content channels. According to MIC, these heavy sanctions are expected to help clean up cyberspace.
The new draft decree includes more stringent requirements and more severe penalties for offenders. Organisations and individuals offering services, whether within Vietnam or internationally, are mandated to prevent and delete content that breaches the law immediately, once this is required by MIC. In cases where unreasonable content is not removed as instructed, MIC will employ technical measures to block websites, applications, and platforms that offer these services.
A notable addition in the draft decree compels social networks to temporarily or permanently suspend the accounts, community pages, community groups, and content channels that frequently breach regulations or engage in severe violations that impact national security. The regulations designed by MIC aim to address the sources of violations and reduce the time and resources expended by agencies in blocking and removing content in violation.
An industry expert has noted that that information is spreading rapidly across both domestic and international social networks. Failure to promptly address harmful information could lead to significant consequences for individuals and businesses. Moreover, inaccurate information concerning government policies circulating on social networks could severely undermine the reputation and functioning of state agencies.
The call for the immediate removal of violating content and the decision to suspend offending accounts can effectively resolve multiple issues simultaneously. In such a scenario, platforms will bear the responsibility of monitoring user posts, while users will need to be accountable for the content they generate.
It is essential to establish clear guidelines regarding the types of violations that need to be addressed and how much time platforms are allowed to do this. If the violations have relations with national security, they must be handled immediately. In this case, platforms must remove information in violation as soon as the watchdog agency sends links containing the violating information, with no need to send written requests. For other types of violations, it may be more practical to provide platforms with a reasonable amount of time to conduct thorough investigations into the cases before taking action.
With the ongoing digital transformation, the volume of sensitive data stored on digital platforms has surged, underscoring the importance of securing data as a critical priority. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a warning regarding an increasingly serious scam involving the utilisation of deepfake technology to capture the movements and voices of unsuspecting victims for fraudulent purposes. This manipulation has resulted in financial losses for numerous individuals. It is anticipated that this artificial intelligence (AI)-based deception will evolve further in the future, becoming even more sophisticated and deceptive.
Personal data serves as the foundational building blocks for government and business databases. As a result, these data are regarded as invaluable resources for organisations and individuals to gather and use. The legitimate and lawful use of this data yields significant value. However, illegal activities that compromise personal data, leading to infringements on national security, social order, and security, can have severe consequences.
