Vietnam has enacted laws to ensure people’s right to access information: the 2016 Press Law, the 2016 Law on Information Access, the 2018 Cyber Security Law, and the Decree on Management, Supply, and Use of Internet Services and Online Information. These legal documents comply with the principle of law-governed socialism and the 2013 Constitution of ensuring the right to information access and freedom in cyberspace.
The 2016 Press Law stipulates the right to freedom of speech and press, allowing people to voice their opinion about domestic and international issues, comment on the building and implementation of Party guidelines and State policies and laws, and contribute opinions, and report on the Party, the State, and political and social organizations. The 2016 Law on Information Access stipulates that citizens have the right to access prompt and accurate information and are allowed to voice their opinion, file a lawsuit, and report on violations of the law. The 2018 Cyber Security Law stipulates that the Vietnamese State will respect and ensure human rights, including the right to information access. The Decree on Management, Supply, and Use of Internet Services and Online Information requires the Party and State to pursue a consistent policy of creating conditions for economic growth by enabling people in disadvantaged areas to access internet services and online information.
The Vietnamese government collects opinions of individuals and businesses via a government e-portal and publishes indexes of state agency administrative reforms and people’s satisfaction with public services. This is part of a push to create an e-government that provides services and allows individuals to express their opinions online. Growing numbers of people are using the internet and social networks to voice their opinions and comment on Party guidelines and State policies. Several agencies monitor these opinions and respond to them.
The Vietnamese Party and State have paid particular attention to the development of the press and communications. The Vietnamese press has grown rapidly and serves as a forum for promoting democracy and people’s rights. Media organizations have embraced multi-media formats, to expand people’s access to information.
While the development of mass media and the internet has improved the exercise of free speech and access to information in Vietnam, as in other countries, Vietnamese law restricts freedom of speech and access to information in certain cases consistent with the International Convention on Political and Civil Rights to protect the legitimate rights of other people, ensure national security, maintain law and order, and safeguard community health and morality.
Vietnam’s achievements in ensuring people’s rights in cyberspace have been acknowledged internationally and have contributed to Vietnam’s development and integration. Vietnam will continue to build on these achievements to ensure people’s freedom, happiness, and development.