“Google and MIC need to strengthen co-ordination, for which Google could consider opening a representative office in Vietnam,” Tuan proposed at a January 17 meeting with Ann Lavin, Google’s Director for Public Policy and Government Affairs in the Asia-Pacific.
Minister of MIC Truong Minh Tuan and Google Representative Ann Lavin.
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Last March, the two sides have agreed on the establishment of a specialized communication channel for Google to receive MIC’s removal requests for YouTube content violating Vietnamese laws.
By the end of 2017, Google has removed or blocked 6,423 out of the 7,410 video clips flagged by MIC from YouTube and 6 games from Google Play, which were deemed illegal by the Vietnamese side.
With 70% of the population using internet, it is increasingly important for Google to co-operate with Vietnam not to miss business opportunities in the country, Tuan urged.
Along with the request for Google to set up an office in Vietnam, the Minister pledged to support and closely co-operate with the corporation to ensure its healthy and law-abiding development in Vietnam.
Tuan expected the co-operation will be taken to a step further through the removal of the violators’ entire YouTube channel instead of individual video clips as par the current policy, as well as accelerating the review process of MIC’s requests and deleting or blocking content on each Tuesday.
In response, Lavin is convinced that the two sides have reached new levels of understanding. “Google is committed to follow the laws of host countries, including Vietnam. We hope to play a greater role in supporting the economic development and contributing to the fourth industrial revolution in the country,” she stressed.
“The objective of this meeting is to gain a deeper knowledge on Vietnamese laws and establish efficient working relations with related agencies in the country.”
With regard to information security, Google has sent an expert to Vietnam to work with the government on information exchange and related safety issues. As Vietnam is stepping up efforts to take advantage of the fourth industrial revolution, Google sees vast potential in each Vietnamese citizen and is willing to support Vietnam in developing its digital economy as well as to provide better access for Vietnam’s small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to reach international markets.
In a controversial move, a draft Cybersecurity law proposed by the Ministry of Public security requested internet-based service providers like Google, Facebook or Twitter to set up servers in Vietnam for security reasons.
However, foreign servers are now no longer required to be in the country, according to the latest draft discussed at the National Assembly on January 11. On the other hand, data pertaining to Vietnamese users as well as data collected or generated from activities in Vietnam will have to be stored in the country by foreign companies.
