Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest Internet growth and usage in the world.

In the afternoon of November 7, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' regular press conference, Deputy spokesman of the Foreign Ministry Ngo Toan Thang answered a reporter's question on Vietnam's reaction to Freedom House's report, which was released on November 5, saying that Vietnam is on the list of countries without Internet freedom.

Mr. Ngo Toan Thang said: "I completely reject the assessment about Vietnam in the November 5, 2019 report of Freedom House.

Ensuring the right to freedom of speech and access to information is a consistent policy of Vietnam, stipulated in the Constitution and laws and fully implemented in reality. The State of Vietnam always advocates to promote the development of the Internet to serve the nation's construction and development, as well as meet the needs of information exchange, learning and working of the people.

In fact, Vietnam is now one of the countries with the highest Internet growth and usage in the world. Information technology and social networks have been widely used in life, economic, social and cultural activities in Vietnam.

According to statistics, by early 2019, Vietnam had 60 million Internet users, accounting for more than 60% of the population, ranked 16th in the world in terms of Internet users and 55 million people using social network platforms. Vietnam is among the group of the countries with the largest number of Internet users in the world".

Law on Access to Information: an important document

One of the solutions to ensure people's right to information is to effectively implement the Law on Access to Information (effective on July 1, 2018). This is an important document that specifies the people's right to access to information and the responsibility of state agencies to provide information.

The Prime Minister signed Directive 08/CT-TTg dated March 14, 2017 asking ministries, branches and localities to identify the task of providing information to citizens as one of the regular tasks, from which allocates appropriate resources to meet the needs of information supply of citizens.

The directive stated that the Law on Access to Information No. 104/2016/QH13 took effect from July 1, 2018. This is a very important law that creates a legal framework for the implementation of citizens' right to information access and improving the openness and transparency in the activities of state agencies.

In order to ensure the necessary conditions for the timely and effective implementation of this Law, the Prime Minister requests ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and the chairs of People's Committees of provinces and cities directly under the central government focus on urgently preparing conditions for the implementation of this law.

Specifically, ministries, branches and localities thoroughly grasp the content and spirit of the provisions of the Law on Information Access; use appropriate and popular forms and measures to raise awareness of rights and responsibilities of agencies, units, officials, civil servants, and citizens in exercising the right to access to information. 

In addition, reviewing the provisions of the law on access to information related to the functions, tasks and powers of the agency to promptly conduct by themselves or propose to the competent state agencies to amend, supplement, replace, abolish or promulgate legal documents within its competence to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Law on Information Access.

The ministries, branches and localities shall prepare conditions to ensure the implementation of the Law such as: Assigning and arranging agencies, attached units, public employees and officials with sufficient capacity and qualifications to be the focal point for supply of information; arranging reasonable reception places for citizens to provide information suitable to the conditions of each agency.

Besides, ministries, branches and localities shall direct the design and operation of electronic portals and websites; build and operate an information database which they are responsible for providing information to ensure systematic, complete, comprehensive, timely and easily searchable information; consolidate clerical, archiving task and statistics in service of information provision.

In addition, it is necessary to equip technical means, information technology and other necessary conditions to promptly meet the information provision requirements of citizens at their headquarters and via the internet.

The Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to identify the task of providing information to citizens as one of the regular tasks of ministries, branches and localities, from which allocating appropriate resources to meet meet the needs of providing information to citizens.

Hoang Anh