The Vietnamese government has confirmed plans to formulate a code of conduct that would regulate blog posts.

"Since this (blogging) is very complicated and sensitive by nature, it is a must to create a legal framework for it," said Doan Quy Doan, the deputy information and communications minister.

Doan also explained that the law would not interfere with individual privacy, but instead would help contribute to the "healthy development" of a blogging environment. In addition, Doan claimed that the ministry would "contact" Google and Yahoo over their expected "cooperation" for the regulation campaign. 

"To direct the activity properly, we have to combine law, technology, campaigns and education," Doan told the Phap Luat newspaper.

Nguyen The Ky, head of the press management and publishing bureau, expressed similiar sentiments. "It's impossible to control the internet, so I think we should bolster technical security measures in addition to creating regulations," said Ky.

However, a number of bloggers and experts have criticised the proposed legislation. For example, Nguyen Ngoc Hung, a lawyer from a popular Vietnamese social networking website, expressed concern that surfers would choose to patronise international blog providers if local laws were perceived as too extreme. Hung also suggested creating a general statute about uploading information on the internet.

It should be noted that South Korea has also announced plans to regulate the internet. The proposed legislation would require all news sites to follow the same restrictions as newspapers, TV and radio. Forum and chatroom users would be required to create verifiable real-name registrations, while Internet companies could be forced to publicise their search algorithms in an effort to improve "transparency".

South Korean president Myung-bak Lee defended the pending legislation as necessary to protect against "infodemics, a phenomenon in which inaccurate, false information is disseminated; prompting social unrest that spreads like an epidemic". X

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