| Part of a series on |
| Censorship by country |
|---|
 |
| Countries |
| See also |
Censorship in Vietnam is pervasive and is implemented by the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in relation to all kinds of media – the press, literature, works of art, music, television and the Internet. The government censors content for mainly political reasons, such as curtailing political opposition, and censoring events unfavorable to the party. In its 2021 Press Freedom Index, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Vietnam as "very serious" at 174 out of 180 countries, one of the lowest in the world and the worst ranking on their five-point scale.[1] Similarly, Freedom House's 2021 Freedom on the Net report classifies Vietnam as "not free" in relation to the Internet, with significant obstacles to access, limits on content and significant violations of user rights.[2]
The Communist Party of Vietnam classifies the Constitution of Vietnam as the "fundamental and supreme law" of the country.[3] A number of civil and political rights are enshrined within it de jure, such as Article 25, which provides that: "The citizen shall enjoy the right to freedom of opinion and speech, freedom of the press, of access to information, to assemble, form associations and hold demonstrations. The practice of these rights shall be covered by the law."[3] However, despite apparent legal recognition of such freedoms in its Constitution, the exercise of these freedoms in Vietnam is de facto significantly constrained by censorship in many areas and are mostly disregarded, with frequent imprisonments of individuals for being "critical of the state".[4]
Certain topics, especially in relation to political dissidents, the legitimacy of the Vietnamese government, the way the party conducts bilateral relations with other countries, corruption by top party leaders, as well as discussing human rights issues are considered forbidden topics and are censored in a variety of ways by the Vietnamese government, including the use of physical intimidation, imprisonment without trial, destruction of materials and censorship of websites.[5] The Vietnamese government has also made use of online operatives and nationalist netizens to combat any perceived dissent against its position as well as engaging in historical revisionism.[6]
- ^ "2019 World Press Freedom Index". RSF. Archived from the original on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Vietnam" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Constitution of the socialist Republic of Vietnam (2013)" (PDF). Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Vietnam jails journalists for 'propaganda' critical of state". Reuters. 5 January 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
- ^ "Vietnam censors to fight 'internet chaos'". BBC News. 27 December 2017.
- ^ Vietnam: Challenges and Opportunities for Freedom of Expression, Internet Freedom Festival, 2016, archived from the original on 7 April 2022, retrieved 9 June 2022