DECREES:

Article 1.- To issue together with this Decree the "Provisional Regulation on the Management, Establishment and Use of INTERNET Network in Vietnam".

Article 2.- This Decree takes effect 15 days after its signing. The previous regulations contrary to this Decree are now annulled.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment, the Minister of Culture and Information, the General Director of the General Department of Post shall have to guide the implementation of this Decree.

Article 3.- The Ministers, the Heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the Heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the Presidents of the People�s Committees of the provinces and cities directly under the Central Government shall have to implement this Decree.

On behalf of the Government

Prime Minister

PROVISIONAL REGULATION ON THE MANAGEMENT, ESTABLISHMENT AND USE OF INTERNET NETWORK IN VIETNAM
(Issued together with Decree No.21-CP of March 5, 1997 of the Government)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1.- The Government shall uniformly manage and control the INTERNET network in Vietnam as well as its services; manage the international gateways connected to INTERNET; control the information transmitted on the network.

All agencies, organizations or enterprises wishing to connect their computerized information networks to INTERNET must install its own server in Vietnam and make connections through the prescribed international gateways; must take responsibility for all the information to be accessed, transmitted or received.

Article 2.- The services provided by the INTERNET network in Vietnam include: electronic mail, data transmission, remote access, database access by different modes.

Article 3.- All information accessed, transmitted and received in the INTERNET network through the international gateways in Vietnam must comply with provisions of Article 10 of Vietnam�s Law on Press and Article 22 of the Law on Publication. More concretely:

1. They must not incite opposition to the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam or undermine the national unity;

2. They must not incite violence, not make propaganda for aggressive war, not sow hatred among nations and peoples, not disseminate reactionary ideologies and cultures, the lecherous and depraved way of life, crime, social evils and superstition, and not harm the fine traditions and customs;

3. They must not disclose secrets of the Party and the State, military, security, economic or diplomatic secrets, the private life of citizens and other secrets as prescribed by the law;

4. They must not spread false information, distort the history, repudiate the achievements of the revolution, disparage leaders and national heroes, sland, harm the prestige of organizations or the honor and dignity of citizens.

The agency managing the international gateways, the agencies and organizations having their own computerized information networks connected to the INTERNET shall have to take effective measures to promptly prevent information violating the above said regulations. Any organization or individual that receives such kind of information shall have to handle it and report to the competent agency for handling as prescribed.

Article 4.- This Regulation shall apply to all computers and computerized information networks installed in Vietnam and connected to the INTERNET for either internal use or business purpose.

For the computerized information networks of the diplomatic missions, the provisions of the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the agreements between the Vietnamese Government and the concerned governments (if any) on communication modalities shall apply.

Chapter II

PROVISION, USE OF COMPUTERIZED INFORMATION NETWORKS CONNECTED TO INTERNET

Article 5.- All Vietnamese agencies, organizations and enterprises and foreign organizations in Vietnam wishing to connect their computers or specialized computerized information networks to the INTERNET for internal use must apply for permit with clear commitment to comply with provisions of this Regulation and shall be permitted to do so by the State management agencies authorized by the Government on the following conditions:

1. Having the legal person status under Vietnamese law;

2. Stating clearly their use purposes;

3. Having the design of the computerized information networks with sufficient supporting facilities convenient for the supervision and control in order to ensure information safety and the national security secrets.

4. Having technical personnel qualified for the technical requirements of the networks.

Article 6.- An organization, agency or enterprise shall be entitled to connect its computerized information network to the INTERNET and put them into use only after obtaining a permit.

Article 7.- An agency, organization or enterprise wishing to use its computerized information network for doing business in Internet services or acting as agent to provide INTERNET services shall have to fill procedures under the Law on State Enterprises, the Corporate Law and the Regulation on Postal and Telecommunications Services and apply for permits from the competent State management agency.

Article 8.- An agency, organization or enterprise wishing to change the purpose and contents of its operation defined in the permit shall have to file a new dossier of application for the change of permit to the permit-issuing agency.

Article 9.- When its operation is temporarily suspended for whatever reason, an agency, organization or enterprise shall have to notify in writing the permit-issuing agency of such reason and the duration of temporary suspension of its operation.

If it wishes to resume its operation, it shall have to promptly notify the permit-issuing agency thereof.

Article 10.- The units trading in or providing INTERNET services must set the index of charges for their services, submit it to the competent agency for approval and make public announcement to the service users.

Article 11.- The units trading in or providing Internet services have the following responsibilities:

1. To comply with all provisions of this Regulation;

2. To operate in conformity with the contents prescribed in their permits;

3. To popularize this Regulation to the users and instruct them to strictly comply with the provisions of Article 3 of this Regulation.

4. To comply with the Ordinance on Accounting and Statistics, the reporting regime and other obligations as prescribed by law.

5. To submit to the supervision and control by the competent State management agencies.

Article 12.- Individuals who wish to use the INTERNET services must register and sign a subscription contract with the units trading in or providing the INTERNET services and be responsible for the contents of information to be accessed, transmitted or received in their systems.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 13.- To establish the National INTERNET Coordinating Commission to regulate and coordinate the management and development of the network and INTERNET services in Vietnam.

The Minister of Science, Technology and Environment shall act as the Chairman of the Commission, the General Director of the General Department of Post shall act as the Vice Chairman of the Commission, the heads of the following agencies shall be the members of the Commission: the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Steering Committee for the National Program on Information Technology, the National Center for Natural Sciences and Technology.

Article 14.- The Ministry of Education and Training shall have to:

Act as the standing body of the National INTERNET Coordinating Commission in Vietnam.

Study and work out policies and solutions for the development of INTERNET network in Vietnam; coordinate with the General Department of Post in drawing up the overall plan as well as concrete plans and determining the order of priority in the connection of domestic computerized information networks to the INTERNET; select the advanced technology and propose technical and technological solutions to ensure the safe operation of the experimental INTERNET network in Vietnam.

Article 15.- The General Department of Post shall have to:

1. Direct the establishment of the axis information network (the infrastructure of the network); manage the international gateways, the technical facilities to ensure the information security; stipulate the modes of contact, connection and access for all computerized information networks of Vietnam to be linked with the INTERNET so as to centralize the control of the entire information flow through the national axis network.

2. Coordinate with the Ministry of the Interior in granting permits for activities of connection to the INTERNET, trading in and use of the INTERNET services.

3. Act as a coordinator at the International INTERNET Organization.

Article 16.- The Ministry of Culture and Information shall have to:

Work out plans for and guide the implementation of regulations on the management of the contents of information exchanged on the INTERNET network to make them conform to the requirements defined in Article 3 of this Regulation.

Article 17.- The Ministry of the Interior shall have to:

1. Draw up plans for control of the information exchanged on the computerized information networks connected to INTERNET and organize the implementation thereof.

2. Organize the application of technical solutions to ensure the security and confidentiality of information on the INTERNET.

3. Join the General Department of Post in considering and granting permits for the computerized information networks to be connected to the INTERNET and other persons and organizations entitled to do business in and use the INTERNET services.

Article 18.- The ministries, branches and People�s Committees of various levels which own the computerized information networks connected to the INTERNET shall have to manage the exchange of information and information sources accessed to the INTERNET as well as those received from the INTERNET in accordance with the permits in terms of contents of the information exchanged, to ensure the security and confidentiality of the information exchanged in accordance with the Ordinance on Protection of State Secrets.

Article 19.- No organization or individual is permitted to directly or indirectly connect their computers or computer networks to the INTERNET via public telephone lines.

Article 20.- The computerized information networks and data bases of the Party, Government, Security or National Defense agencies are not permitted to link up with the INTERNET.

If the above said agencies wish to link up with the INTERNET, they shall have to establish their own networks (or stations), code their information, take effective technical solutions to combat information piracy from outside and to combat destructive infiltration into their computerized information systems, and at the same tine, to control the exchange of information.

Article 21.- All organizations and individuals using computers and computer networks connected to the INTERNET shall be subject to the supervision and control of the competent State management agencies in the following aspects:

1. Permits for link-up with the INTERNET or for the use of INTERNET services for business purposes.

2. The content of the information transmitted and received.

3. Measures for ensuring the security of information and national security.

4. The list of the INTERNET network and service users.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 22.- The General Department of Post shall issue a circular guiding the procedures to apply for permits for: connection to the INTERNET, business registration or agents providing INTERNET services, subscription for use of INTERNET services under the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 23.- The Ministry of Culture and Information shall issue a circular guiding the management of information exchanged on the INTERNET under the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 24.- An agency, organization, enterprise or individual that violates the provisions of this Regulation shall be subject to administrative sanctions, suspension of operation, withdrawal of permit, or be examined for penal liability in accordance with current provisions of law.

On behalf of the Government

Prime Minister