by [rollinglinks]Vu Quoc Ngu[/rollinglinks], Aug 14, 2014
Defend the Defenders
Recently, many Vietnamese activists and political dissidents have claimed that their Facebook accounts have been shut down by Facebook’s administrators based on fake reports from government-supported cyber trolls.
In recent days, over a hundred of online activists in Vietnam and other countries could not log on to their accounts due to “report abuse,” which may have been conducted by paid supporters of the Vietnamese government. Among victims are well-known activist bloggers Me Nam, Co Gai Do Long, Nguyen Quang Lap and Nguyen Lan Thang as well as several organizations advocating democracy such as Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform Party) and dissident journal Patriot Diary.
Vietnam’s pro-government online army have been exploiting regulations of U.S.-based Facebook, as the social forum will suspend one account for investigation if it receive a certain number of reports saying the account is disseminating “hate speech” or “inappropriate content.” Facebook’s administration will reactivate the account if the owner can prove that the accusations are untrue, and provide their real names and other personal information. Vietnamese pro-government activists have created thousands fake reports on Facebook pages of social activists and human rights advocates who pose a challenge to the one-party regime.
Earlier this year, Vietnam’s state-run media admitted that the government is paying for tens of thousands of people to work online to “shape social opinions,” particularly propagandize the communist party’s policies and attack online bloggers and social websites which are not under control of the government, with a vast number of explicit and derogatory comments on them. The capital city of Hanoi has 900 pro-government online activists to deal with political dissent, acknowledged Ho Quang Loi, chief of the city’s propaganda apparatuses.
The Vietnamese government and Facebook have yet to comment on this specific series of account suspensions while Facebook released a statement reiterating its rule that all members must use their real names.
In Vietnam, one of very few communist nations in the world, the Ministry of Communication and Information closely controls media which consists of over 700 newspapers and journals, and hundreds of television channels and radios. The head of the communist party’s Commission for Propaganda and Education is the general chief editor of the state-controlled media.
In these circumstances, blogging and social forums play a very important role for political dissidents and social activists where they can freely post their writing concerning a number of issues that the state media ignores or improperly addresses, such as human rights, systemic corruption, economic mismanagement of the government, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty.
Facebook is the most popular social forum in the communist-ruled Vietnam, with more than 25 million accounts, according the Danish marketing firm Epinion.
It is one of the fastest tools for exchanging information and debating sensitive issues among local residents, and became a form of freedom of association and assembly in the country where the two rights exist only in the Constitution.
Report abuse is a new tactic of Vietnam’s communist government to deal with rising online dissent. During the past few years, Hanoi has strived to suppress online dissent through aggressive filtering, malware, and repressive decrees. Since 2009, Vietnam has tried to restrict Facebook and other social networks.
In 2013, social activist Dinh Nhat Uy became the first Vietnamese to be arrested for his activities on Facebook. He was convicted for “abusing democratic freedoms” through status updates calling for the release of his younger brother who also used social media to express dissent. After several months of detentions, Uy was released but his brother is still serving a hard sentence of four years for online activities.
Uy’s arrest sparked widespread attention but did not temper enthusiasm for using the social network for political discussion and organizing, local observers said.
It is likely that the communist government in Hanoi has given that up on totally blocking Facebook and sought other methods to cope with online activities of political dissidents and social activists, observers noted.
By applying report abuse against political dissent, Hanoi can project an image of tolerance of free speech to the outside world by allowing the wider site to remain accessible while restricting the opposition from using it to voice their dissent, said political analysts, adding Vietnam is striving to avoid being criticized for human rights violations from international donors of official development assistance.
Many Vietnamese American activists, some of them are members of Viet Tan, a U.S.-based pro-democracy party but labeled by the communist government in Vietnam as a terrorist organization, have worked with the Facebook’s administrators to reactivate the reported accounts of Vietnamese activists. Within a week, nearly all reported accounts were given back to their owners.
In long term, Facebook should have necessary technologies to prevent the abuses to make this a safe place for people to share ideas and hopes for freedom, the activists said in their petition sent to the U.S.-based social network.
It should change the rule requiring users to register under real name and accept anonymity given the strict suppression against political dissent in Vietnam, which can use Article 258 under the Criminal Code to jail political dissidents and social activists for their online peaceful expression, activists said.
Vietnam, with a population of over 90 millions and one third of them are connected with Internet, is considered by the Reporters Without Border (RWB) as one of the biggest enemies of Internet.
Along with closely controlling Internet service providers and systemic censorship, Hanoi has severely suppressed online activities and punished those who bravely criticized the communist party, its government and state officials.
The repression campaign targets individual as well as collective blogs, according to the RWB. In the former group are bloggers including Nguyen Van Dai, Pham Thanh Nghien, Le Cong Dinh, Dinh Dang Dinh, J.B Nguyen Huu Vinh, Nguoi Buon Gio, and Nguyen Quang Lap. Collective blog targets include BachDang, Quanlambao, Bauxite Viet Nam, Dong Chua Cuu The, and Nu Vuong Cong Ly.
According to international human rights organizations, Vietnam, a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2014-2016 period, is holding about 200 political dissidents who examine the freedom of expression enshrined in the country’s Constitution. May others have been intimidated and suppressed for posting articles condemning widespread corruption, economic mismanagement of the government and weak response to the Chinese violations of the country’s sovereignty.
Due to its bad human rights record, including suppressing online, Vietnam is often criticized by international human rights bodies and foreign countries such as the U.S., Canada, and the EU. The administration of President Barack Obama is still imposing a lethal weapon embargo over Vietnam, saying the communist government must improve its human rights record first.
Many U.S. politicians and social activists urged Obama’s administration not to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with Vietnam unless it releases all political prisoners unconditionally. /.
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August 15, 2014
Vietnam Pro-government Abuse Reports Lock Activists out of Facebook
by Nhan Quyen • Dinh Nhat Uy, Nguyen Huu Vinh JB, Nguyen Quang Lap (Que Choa), Nguyen Van Dai, Pham Thanh Nghien
by [rollinglinks]Vu Quoc Ngu[/rollinglinks], Aug 14, 2014
Defend the Defenders
Vietnam’s pro-government online army have been exploiting regulations of U.S.-based Facebook, as the social forum will suspend one account for investigation if it receive a certain number of reports saying the account is disseminating “hate speech” or “inappropriate content.” Facebook’s administration will reactivate the account if the owner can prove that the accusations are untrue, and provide their real names and other personal information. Vietnamese pro-government activists have created thousands fake reports on Facebook pages of social activists and human rights advocates who pose a challenge to the one-party regime.
Earlier this year, Vietnam’s state-run media admitted that the government is paying for tens of thousands of people to work online to “shape social opinions,” particularly propagandize the communist party’s policies and attack online bloggers and social websites which are not under control of the government, with a vast number of explicit and derogatory comments on them. The capital city of Hanoi has 900 pro-government online activists to deal with political dissent, acknowledged Ho Quang Loi, chief of the city’s propaganda apparatuses.
The Vietnamese government and Facebook have yet to comment on this specific series of account suspensions while Facebook released a statement reiterating its rule that all members must use their real names.
In Vietnam, one of very few communist nations in the world, the Ministry of Communication and Information closely controls media which consists of over 700 newspapers and journals, and hundreds of television channels and radios. The head of the communist party’s Commission for Propaganda and Education is the general chief editor of the state-controlled media.
In these circumstances, blogging and social forums play a very important role for political dissidents and social activists where they can freely post their writing concerning a number of issues that the state media ignores or improperly addresses, such as human rights, systemic corruption, economic mismanagement of the government, and weak response to China’s violations of the country’s sovereignty.
Facebook is the most popular social forum in the communist-ruled Vietnam, with more than 25 million accounts, according the Danish marketing firm Epinion.
It is one of the fastest tools for exchanging information and debating sensitive issues among local residents, and became a form of freedom of association and assembly in the country where the two rights exist only in the Constitution.
Report abuse is a new tactic of Vietnam’s communist government to deal with rising online dissent. During the past few years, Hanoi has strived to suppress online dissent through aggressive filtering, malware, and repressive decrees. Since 2009, Vietnam has tried to restrict Facebook and other social networks.
In 2013, social activist Dinh Nhat Uy became the first Vietnamese to be arrested for his activities on Facebook. He was convicted for “abusing democratic freedoms” through status updates calling for the release of his younger brother who also used social media to express dissent. After several months of detentions, Uy was released but his brother is still serving a hard sentence of four years for online activities.
Uy’s arrest sparked widespread attention but did not temper enthusiasm for using the social network for political discussion and organizing, local observers said.
It is likely that the communist government in Hanoi has given that up on totally blocking Facebook and sought other methods to cope with online activities of political dissidents and social activists, observers noted.
By applying report abuse against political dissent, Hanoi can project an image of tolerance of free speech to the outside world by allowing the wider site to remain accessible while restricting the opposition from using it to voice their dissent, said political analysts, adding Vietnam is striving to avoid being criticized for human rights violations from international donors of official development assistance.
Many Vietnamese American activists, some of them are members of Viet Tan, a U.S.-based pro-democracy party but labeled by the communist government in Vietnam as a terrorist organization, have worked with the Facebook’s administrators to reactivate the reported accounts of Vietnamese activists. Within a week, nearly all reported accounts were given back to their owners.
In long term, Facebook should have necessary technologies to prevent the abuses to make this a safe place for people to share ideas and hopes for freedom, the activists said in their petition sent to the U.S.-based social network.
It should change the rule requiring users to register under real name and accept anonymity given the strict suppression against political dissent in Vietnam, which can use Article 258 under the Criminal Code to jail political dissidents and social activists for their online peaceful expression, activists said.
Vietnam, with a population of over 90 millions and one third of them are connected with Internet, is considered by the Reporters Without Border (RWB) as one of the biggest enemies of Internet.
Along with closely controlling Internet service providers and systemic censorship, Hanoi has severely suppressed online activities and punished those who bravely criticized the communist party, its government and state officials.
The repression campaign targets individual as well as collective blogs, according to the RWB. In the former group are bloggers including Nguyen Van Dai, Pham Thanh Nghien, Le Cong Dinh, Dinh Dang Dinh, J.B Nguyen Huu Vinh, Nguoi Buon Gio, and Nguyen Quang Lap. Collective blog targets include BachDang, Quanlambao, Bauxite Viet Nam, Dong Chua Cuu The, and Nu Vuong Cong Ly.
According to international human rights organizations, Vietnam, a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the 2014-2016 period, is holding about 200 political dissidents who examine the freedom of expression enshrined in the country’s Constitution. May others have been intimidated and suppressed for posting articles condemning widespread corruption, economic mismanagement of the government and weak response to the Chinese violations of the country’s sovereignty.
Due to its bad human rights record, including suppressing online, Vietnam is often criticized by international human rights bodies and foreign countries such as the U.S., Canada, and the EU. The administration of President Barack Obama is still imposing a lethal weapon embargo over Vietnam, saying the communist government must improve its human rights record first.
Many U.S. politicians and social activists urged Obama’s administration not to approve the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement with Vietnam unless it releases all political prisoners unconditionally. /.