B�o �i?n t? - Th?i b�o Kinh t? Vi?t Nam

B�o �i?n t? - Th?i b�o Kinh t? Vi?t Nam

MPT to tighten the net cyber rules

VNECONOMY updated: 15/06/2005


The circular on the management of internet agencies was compiled by the ministries of public security; post and telematics (MPT); culture and information; and planning and investment nearly a year ago and is expected to be signed this month.

Nguyen Hong Hai, director of the MPT’s Telecommunications Department, said the circular was nearly ready for signing after lengthy discussion among the four ministries about issues such as local management of internet resources and limiting access to inappropriate content.

“The management situation is very pressing in localities, while there is a lack of common regulations on licence-granting criteria and operating criteria. We are finishing the document and selecting a day this month for signing,” Hai said.

Instead of waiting for uniform regulations, many provinces have issued their own rules on internet services, including Hung Yen, Ha Tinh, Yen Bai and Binh Duong, along with urban centres like Ho Chi Minh City.

Owners of internet cafes have been asked to enforce specific measures to monitor and control sites visited by their customers, including implementing tracking software or upgrading infrastructure.

The draft circular regulates the minimum space for each computer, stipulating that all terminals must be in shop owners’ view to prevent the viewing of inappropriate sites. Each cafe must also meet safety conditions, such as fire-prevention measures and a requirement that they be located at least 200 metres from schools. Internet agencies and cafes will also have to install software that requires customers’ names and ID numbers. The software will be offered by internet service providers (ISPs) and will be built by individual ISPs or groups of ISPs.

Each agency and cyber shop has to clearly indicate its regulations and business hours, and must warn customers not to view pornographic sites. The shop owners must demonstrate their responsibility or face fines.

The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee issued a decision to postpone the granting of new licences to cyber cafes for public use because there is a shortage of staff to monitor them.

According to an official from the Ho Chi Minh City Culture and Information Office, who asked not to be identified, authorities at the district level have either suspended or limited the granting of new licences for public internet businesses.

In the mountainous province of Yen Bai, a quarter of the internet cafes are licensed, and most of them began offering internet service after previously offering only electronic games. Most of them do not have enough knowledge about networks or security to prevent surfers from accessing unwholesome websites, said local authorities.

Meanwhile, local authorities are hesitant to grant new licences, and the Tax Office is applying high taxes to suspected illegal internet agencies as a way to manage the problem until the circular becomes effective.

Nguyen Van Duoc, head of the Yen Bai Post and Telematics Office, said many cyber cafes allow surfers to access sexually explicit websites. Up to 90 per cent of young people have viewed pornographic sites, while 26 out of 28 supervised cafes had evidence of sex sites on their computers.