(VOVworld) – The Ministry of Information and Communication has submitted to the Government a new draft decree on the management, supply, and use of web services and information. These regulations are aligned with the Vietnamese Law and its commitment. They include the use of Internet to ensure the country’s stability and social order while hindering misuse to minimize negative impacts on users. VOV reporter Thu Hoa examines the issue.

The Ministry of Information and Communication says the draft decree aims not only at providing state management agencies with more legal foundations but also to improve the current legal channels. An efficient management and creating conditions for Internet to develop at the same time is a headache for all countries around the globe including Vietnam. The draft decree stated that there are many changes corresponding to the current development of Internet services and web information with more detailed regulations on management, supply, and use of the Internet, Internet-based resources, online social network services, and online games. The decree’s changes cover not only issues relating to the Internet but also telecommunications.

The attempted regulations are vivid evidence that Vietnam is trying to complete a legal framework to facilitate the Internet and other means of communications to best serve socio-economic development. Luu Vu Hai is Director of the Department of Radio – Television and Electronic Information Management under the Ministry of Information and Communications. He says "Vietnam has paid special attention to and worked to develop the Internet. The country’s legal normative acts and policies on Internet management make these intentions concrete. We now have the Law on Information Technology, the law on telecommunications, a decree on the management, supply, and use of Internet services and electronic information. The decree encourages the use of the internet in economics, culture, and society, to improve work efficiency. Our country has created favorable conditions for organizations and individuals to provide and use internet services. We also strengthen the dissemination of laws on internet use.   Vietnam has taken measures to prevent activities attempting to use the internet to compromise the country’s security, violate its traditional moral principles or laws. We also work to protect children from harmful influences."

Vietnam officially linked to the World Wide Web at the end of 1997. After 15 years, more than 30.8 million Vietnamese people over 35% of the population can use the Internet with hundreds of Internet providers. Over the past decade, the number of Internet users and web pages in Vietnam has seen vigorous growth while the technical infrastructure for Internet connections continues to expand. Vietnam is a nation to have the fastest Internet growth rate in the region and is amongst the world top countries. It proves the efficiency of Vietnam’s policy to boost the Internet’s development. Luu Vu Hai says again ‘Like other nations in the world, Vietnam plans to develop a policy on an Internet management which boosts its development and creates favorable conditions for citizens to access the Internet lawfully some misconstrue the regulations as blocking access yet laws guiding use exist in every country. In Vietnam citizens find it very easy to access the Internet at a very low price’.

Vietnam has been facilitating the development of the Internet, but seeking to prevent its harmful effects. This is an inevitable move by any political regime to govern society.