Vietnam to enforce tough new cybersecurity law that would require Google, Facebook to store personal data locally, stifling online dissent
Vietnam has been increasingly aggressive in prosecuting dissidents for anti-government Facebook posts, and activists have called on the company to do more to resist the government’s censorship
Vietnam is preparing to strictly enforce a new cybersecurity law requiring global technology companies to set up local offices and store data locally despite pleas from Facebook, Google and other firms, a government document showed.
Vietnamese lawmakers approved the new law in June overriding strong objections from the business community, rights groups and Western governments including the United States, who said the measure would undermine economic development, digital innovation and further stifle political dissent.
Alphabet’s Google, Facebook and other big technology companies had hoped a draft decree on how the law would be implemented would soften provisions they find most objectionable. But the document seen by Reuters indicates those hopes are unlikely to materialise, potentially setting up a showdown over whether the companies will ultimately comply with the law or pull out of the country.
Vietnam’s foreign ministry, which handles foreign media requests for comments from the government, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. Facebook declined to comment. A Google spokesman had no immediate comment.
Despite sweeping economic reforms and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate political dissent.
The new draft decree requires companies providing a range of services, including email, social media, video, messaging, banking and e-commerce, to set up offices in Vietnam if they collect, analyse or process personal user data.
The companies would also be required to store a wide range of user data, ranging from financial records and biometric data to information on peoples’ ethnicity and political views, or strengths and interests inside Vietnam’s border.
Facebook and Google, both of which are widely used in the country, do not have local offices or local data storage facilities and have pushed back on the localisation requirements.