Democratic Voice of Vietnam

This joint submission responds to the call for input by the Chief of Rule of Law and Democracy Section of the Rule of Law, Equality and Non-Discrimination Branch, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. It was collectively prepared by Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN) and Vietnam Coalition Against Torture (VN-CAT).

This submission builds on comprehensive research of Vietnam’s Internet regulations conducted by BPSOS in 2018 and BPSOS’s joint submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression in February 2021, and provides updated information on the central and local governments’ practices of implementing the laws and regulations that restrict freedom of expression, both online and offline. In addition to the controversial Cybersecurity Law passed by the National Assembly in June 2018, the Vietnamese government has issued decrees that further restrict the freedom of expression on the Internet. By conducting administrative, criminal and economic measures, the government has been actively forcing citizens and technology companies (mainly foreign enterprises) to accept a significantly more repressive Internet environment. At the same time, the government has sent an alarmingly large number of journalists to prison for violating Article 117 of the Vietnamese penal code for “creating, storing and disseminating information and materials against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and Article 331 for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens.”

“We are proud of this report that we have produced with our two partners. It is imperative that like-minded scholars, journalists and policy practitioners band together to assess the government’s actions and advocate for freedom of speech,” says Dr. Thang Nguyen, CEO and Executive Director of Boat People SOS. 

On February 3, 2020, the Vietnamese government issued Decree 15/2020/ND-CP (“Decree 15”), signed by the Prime Minister, to stipulate penalties for administrative violations in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequency, information technology and electronic transactions. This decree replaces Decree 174/2013/ND-CP (“Decree 174”).

This legal document issued by the central government’s executive branch went into effect on April 15, 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, and although it covers a wide range of administrative violations, the decree has been widely seen as a measure to counter fake news on the Internet about the pandemic. However, this decree was likely be prepared well before the pandemic and should be considered as the government’s ongoing effort to control the Internet.

Download the full report here: