26 Oct 10 | Index Index, minipost
A political blogger was arrested on Monday. Phan Thanh Hai, who blogs as Saigon Brother Three, was taken from his home in Ho Chi Minh after a police raid. His wife says that he has been detained for the “publication of false information”. Another blogger, Nguyen Van Hai, who had reached the end of his two and a half year prison sentence for tax evasion, has been hit with new charges. He is now accused of campaigning against the one-party communist state.
19 Oct 10 | Index Index, minipost
Microsoft is extending its program of giving free software licences to non-profit organisations. The initiative was first applied to Russia, after it was discovered that authorities were using software piracy inquiries as a method of suppressing independent media outlets and advocacy groups. The program will now include 500,000 NGOs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Prior to the announcement NGOs could only obtain a free licence if they were aware of the program and followed the necessary procedure. According to Microsoft’s official blog announcement, the unilateral licence will last until 2012.
01 Apr 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Google’s Security blog has revealed that a number of malicious malware attacks on Vietnamese computers have been specifically designed to spy on and target “blogs containing messages of political dissent”. Google described this example of internet hacktivism as a direct attempt to “squelch opposition” to a Chinese-backed bauxite mining project in Vietnam which has divided public opinion.
15 Mar 10 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Reporters Without Borders has named Burma, China, North Korea and Vietnam as among the worst violators of freedom of expression on the internet. The Enemies of the Internet 2010 report claimed that governments in these countries are either preventing citizens from accessing the web or developing increasingly sophisticated filtering techniques.
