World News for Students of English

04-01-2019 07:00

The Vietnamese National Assembly passed a controversial cybersecurity law which took effect on January 1st.

The new law requires a number of things. For example, big tech companies such as Facebook have to store local user data in Vietnam, provide information to the government (if asked), and remove any content deemed offensive or harmful. Foreign tech firms serving more than 10,000 Vietnamese users must also establish offices in Vietnam.

Some people have criticised the law, saying that it will lead to further government crackdowns on the opposition and hamper free speech in the country. The country’s government, on the other hand, says that the law is necessary to combat cybercrime and to protect users’ information.

Those to whom the law applies have a year to comply with the requirements, but tech companies and rights groups objected to the law, and US lawmakers even wrote a letter to Facebook and to Google asking them not to comply.

Difficult words: assembly (a group of people who make laws in a country), controversial (people talk about controversial problems or argue because they feel strongly about the problems), deem (regard as, think of as), crackdown (repression), hamper (block), comply (meet the standards).

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