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Vietnam's Force 47 is run by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) to hack anti-government websites and spread pro-government messages online, and is believed to be at least 10,000-strong.
Anh Chi, the pen name of 46-year-old Nguyen Chi Tuyen, knows the ministry's tactics well. He has created videos criticising Force 47, and has expressed concern about the impact of a new cyber-law that came into effect at the beginning of the month.
The deadly January 9 incident in Dong Tam is a case in point.
According to the authorities, three police officers and 84-year-old village leader Le Dinh Kinh were killed after local residents clashed with police in the early hours of that day.
The dispute, over agricultural land next to a military airport, shocked the country. But afterwards, Vietnam's cyber-army, also known as Force 47, was deployed to counter the content on social media platforms deemed critical of the way the authorities handled the situation.
"Facebook is the main source of independent news now in Vietnam," said Trinh Huu Long, a co-founder of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam.
"The government has been working with Facebook to try to control content posted by dissidents and independent voices," he added.
Vietnam is said to be following China's lead in policing its citizens speech online. Is this going to become the global norm?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @03:21AM (1 child)
We can have red flag laws against racists, black people, drug addicts, conspiracy theorists and other anti-social undesirables, what's your point even?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 18 2020, @08:30AM
Uhhhh, just to be clear, in the United States, so-called "red flag laws" are a form of gun control which is designed to deprive legal gun owners of their right to own weapons. In a messy divorce, this will be a new revenge thing. Tell the cops that you're afraid your ex might shoot you, and they'll happily destroy his home in the search for weapons, and confiscate everything they find, no matter how trashy or how valuable. And, THERE IS NO DUE PROCESS!!