Connor
Norton – Vietnam Government Cracks Down on Social Media
The government of
communist-led Vietnam has recently taken a harder stance on dissent via social
media, giving harsh prison sentences to well-known and prolific activists.
However, many people in Vietnam believe that they are safe to speak freely
online “as long as they aren’t famous”, as the country is yet to set specific
boundaries and lacks the power and resources to fully monitor social media as
other governments (specifically China) continue to do. My prior knowledge
concerning the topic pretty much starts and ends with the Vietnam War and North
Vietnam’s triumph in establishing a communist government.
This
news relates to John Adams’ Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. Also a measure
intended to quell political dissent through the suppression of free speech, the
acts were ultimately rebelled against and allowed to expire during the
following presidency. Like the Vietnamese crackdown, the Alien and Sedition
Acts were widely unpopular, though we’ll have to see how this will affect
Vietnamese politics in the future.
I'm not super knoledgeable on Vietnam either, and I had a question. Do you think that the harder crackdown on social media and the silencing of many main activists in the country will result in a negative way towards more than just Vietnam, say the United States perhaps?
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Do we know what pushed the Vietnamese government to this crackdown? Also I thought exactly of the Alien and Sedition Acts while reading and wondering what you would relate it to also haha.
ReplyDeleteI honestly hope that everyone will speak up and fight,overcome their own fears to build a better country!....Good job on your post Connor!!!
ReplyDeleteSocial media doesn't just cause problems in America, folks. This is an example of a government who is done with people exposing it and it has decided to deal with these "trolls" in a rash and, in my opinion, dumb way.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that social media can be bad in many ways, it's also very important in spreading awareness of the problems in our country. Without this ability, thousands of people can be having unjust treatment and nobody would know, so nothing will ever happen about it.
DeleteSocial media can be a really negative thing. In this case they are choosing to give harsh punishment due to the fact that people think that they can say whatever they want without any effects.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about Vietnam either, but I wonder what caused them to start censoring things online and how far they'll take it. I also wonder how far the people living in Vietnam will allow it to go, and when they'll draw the line to stand up for their freedom of speech.
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