VietNamNet Bridge – While regulations on harmful blogs are still in the works, the director of the Bach Khoa Internet Security (Bkis) Centre, Nguyen Tu Quang, spoke to Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper about how it should be done.

It is easier to do so in IT than other fields because violators normally don’t break the law on purpose or for profit.

We don’t always need technology to manage technology. We need regulations. By doing that, managing blogs or any other products of the information technology industry would be easy. I suppose that only 1 per cent of the blogger community is bad or ignorant of possible harms they may cause to other people. They should be warned that violations are subject to punishment.

How can blogs be managed?

It is easier to do so in IT than other fields because violators normally don’t break the law on purpose or for profit. As a result, admonition is effective. Once bloggers understand that their working behavior on the internet is readjusted by Viet Nam’s legal system, the few remaining bad ones who refuse to comply and conform can be tracked easily.

Let’s take an example from 2006-the Bkis Centre worked with the Ministry of Public Security to deter a number of criminal online content. Since then, there has been no recidivism from the internet community though we only applied administrative punishments.

The draft on the revised Criminal Code, which was discussed at the ongoing National Assembly session, sets a fine of a maximum of VND200 million (US$12,100) or a criminal punishment of 12-year imprisonment for violators. This is quite a strict punishment but perfectly suitable for those who intentionally release incorrect information about religion, political system, state and government of Viet Nam.

How will blogs of those abroad be managed?

This is to more complicated. If the violation relates to two countries, police of both sides will work together or through Interpol to investigate the case. If however, the blogger only breaks Vietnamese law but not the laws of the country he/she resides in, there’s little we can do. However, we still can solve this technically. The most important thing is to raise consciousness among internet users.

The co-operation among government sectors is quite slow, while misinformation is spread at the speed of light across the internet. How will this situation be rectified?

For this matter, I have proposed that the Government establish a fast-reaction task force for the internet. It is very necessary in the IT sector which has many special characteristics.

The task force will receive information, hunt down violators and immediately deal with problems. It will then work with relevant agencies once the case is brought to court.

(Source: Viet Nam News)