'Freedom of speech is not freedom to offend'

At the April State management conference, Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan directed that it is necessary to continue to fight to remove and prevent false information, toxic information, information that insults individuals, and information that causes division and ethnic hatred on social networks.

Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan. Photo: NLĐ

Here is a quote from the Minister at the conference: “In recent times, the units of the Ministry have done quite well in handling bad and toxic information on social networks. The prevention and handling of information that defames Party and State leaders, false information, and information that offends the honor and dignity of others is of great concern to society. The National Assembly Standing Committee will include this content in the program of monitoring the activities of the Information and Communications sector.”

He said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Information and Communications will strengthen the implementation of many measures to promote State management in the fields under the Ministry's charge.

Continue to sanitize and punish press agencies, including journalists, who report false news or violate the law.

At the same time, businesses providing cross-border services are required to coordinate in handling the situation of slanderous, defamatory, and insulting news about the honor and dignity of individuals and organizations.

Minister Truong Minh Tuan said that, working with representatives of Google, Facebook and the US Ambassador to Vietnam, he clearly stated his point of view: freedom of speech does not mean freedom to insult the honor and dignity of others, distort the truth, freedom to impersonate others on social networks, freedom to post vulgar, pornographic images, incite war, and ethnic hatred.

The Vietnamese government does not prohibit speech or opinions on social networks. The Ministry of Information and Communications only fights to remove and prevent false information, toxic information, information that insults individuals, and information that causes division and national hatred to restore a healthy environment for Internet users, the Minister said.

He also requested the Ministry's functional agencies to continue to strengthen exchanges and work with foreign suppliers such as Facebook, Google, other social network service businesses... to contribute to a healthy information environment on the Internet.

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According to Nhat Nam/vneconomy