To stay independent, free, and sustainable, our community needs the help of friends and readers like you. Photo by Ivan Lian via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang called for tougher controls on the internet charging that “hostile” entities online had “undermined the prestige of the leaders of the party and the state [bringing about] a negative impact on cadres Quang, who is a former minister of public security, also vowed to increase online surveillance in the name of protecting national security His comments come on the heels of a public consultation on Vietnam’s new draft Law on Cybersecurity, which was written by — and gives broad powers to — the Ministry of Public Security. The draft includes special provisions around “illegal cyber information” that “incites any mass gatherings that disturb security and order and anti-government activities in cyberspace.” The law also sets new standards for “critical systems,” stipulating that operators of such systems must store system data on Vietnamese soil but it does not offer a clear definition of “critical systems” the Law on Cybersecurity will increase the government’s ability to control independent voices online which are already heavily scrutinized and regularly silenced under Vietnam’s Penal Code multiple bloggers and human rights defenders were arrested and charged with “conducting activities aimed at attempting to overthrow the state” under Article 79 of Vietnam’s Penal Code which carries a minimum sentence of 12 years in prison and a maximum sentence of capital punishment Among those arrested were the founding members of the Brotherhood for Democracy a network of activists involved in community building and mobilising across Vietnam Prominent Vietnamese human rights lawyer and blogger Nguyen Van Dai was also charged under Article 79 on top of a previous charge under Penal Code Article 88 for allegedly “conducting propaganda against the state.” A recipient of Human Rights Watch’s Hellman-Hammett Award in 2007 Dai has been detained for more than 600 days without trial The new charges will allow police to extend their investigation period for an additional 20 months An internet blackout in the Darjeeling region of West Bengal, India, has been ongoing for two full months following the deaths of citizens in a violent clash between security forces and separatists calling for an independent Gorkhaland The situation has severely impacted daily life in the region and journalists grapple with the effects of the ban Mexican journalist Candido Rios was murdered on August 22 in a gun attack in Hueyapan de Ocampo the ninth journalist to be assassinated in the country this year known by his colleagues as “Pavuche,” was the founder of the weekly newspaper La Voz de Hueyapan Rios posted a video making strong accusations against political figures of Hueyapan de Ocampo They kill us knowing that our weapons don't shoot bullets A Macedonian court applied the lese-majeste portion of its criminal code for the first time since its independence in 1992 punishing an anonymous person for insulting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Facebook The person will have to pay a fine of 400 euros or serve a prison sentence Media groups expressed concern that the closure orders were politically motivated meant to silence critical voices in the lead-up to the 2018 general elections which will rank individuals on the basis of their online speech and other factors Comments deemed harmful or abusive will likely be a key factor in the calculations of the system The commenting regulation will take effect on October 1 which was selling surveillance technologies that may have been used to monitor and target individuals involved in the Arab uprisings of 2011-2012 and were used in Tunisia before the fall of Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali The ministry said human rights considerations were “only one part” of their overall assessment of the business decision ERROR: SECURITY TIMEOUT - Please copy your message to a backup location Global Voices stands out as one of the earliest and strongest examples of how media committed to building community and defending human rights can positively influence how people experience events happening beyond their own communities and national borders Please consider making a donation to help us continue this work Donate now Authors, please log in » Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Global Voices is supported by the efforts of our volunteer contributors, foundations, donors and mission-related services. For more information please read our Fundraising Ethics Policy Special thanks to our many sponsors and funders