Vietnam, Google share wish to protect users’ rights
20/1/18
Vietnam
and US multinational technology company - Google LLC want to boost cooperation
across the fields of information and technology (IT) and communication as well
as share information on the basis of respect for international practices and
Vietnamese law.
The
two sides expressed the wish during a meeting in Hanoi on January 17 between
Minister of Information and Communication Truong Minh Tuan and Google’s
Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs in Asia-Pacific Ann Lavin.
Minister Tuan said following the establishment of a bilateral mechanism to
prevent and stamp out toxic and illegal information on YouTube, by the end of
2017, Google blocked and delete 6,423 clips with bad contents on YouTube and
removed six games from Google Play due to their violation of Vietnamese law.
The largest social network in the world and also the most popular in
Vietnam, Facebook, removed 159 accounts smearing the reputation of
officials and leaders or those posting anti-Party and State content.
With
70 percent of the population having access to the internet and 53 million
people on Facebook, Vietnam faces many challenges in ensuring people,
especially children, are safe on the internet. In times of rapid technological
development, forces with evil intents would take advantage to deliver toxic
information using foreign-based social services.
Social
media should be considered a tool, a road used by both travellers and thieves.
False, misleading information mostly appears on foreign social media platforms.
Because social media can seem distant from concrete reality, social media users
think they have the freedom to say anything without taking responsibility for
it. Vietnamese social media users are also threatened by cyber
attacks. They are among those with the lowest awareness of cyber risks in
the world.
The mission of the communications ministry in 2018 is to improve mechanisms to
monitor information on the Internet and manage foreign content service
providers operating in Vietnam, while encouraging domestic firms to join the
sector.
Besides Vietnam, many other countries have also taken drastic actions to build
a healthy information environment in the Internet.
The
minister called for Google’s closer collaboration with Vietnam by placing its
representative office in Vietnam or establishing an exclusive cooperative
channel with the Southeast Asian nation. He pledged support for Google while
asking the company to study Vietnamese laws and work closely with Vietnamese
agencies to address violations on YouTube.
Discussing
Vietnam’s potential for a digital economy, Tuan said the country has set a
target to build 4-5 smart cities by 2020, which will be a good opportunity for
his ministry and Google to join hands in training and protection of cyberspace
security.
Ann Lavin, for her part, affirmed that Google always adhere to the law of host
countries where it does business, including in Vietnam. She said that Google
has sent one expert to give consultancy on information security and share
information with the Vietnamese Government. She noted that her visit to Vietnam
aims to study Vietnamese laws for better understanding and collaboration with
the country. Google will back Vietnam in developing the digital economy, she
added./.
All comments [ 1 ]
Google and Facebook should show their willingness to cooperate with Vietnam to clean up the Internet environment to protect users in accordance with Vietnamese and international regulations.
Your comments