Infrastructure
Communications
Vietnam, Laos Arrest Facebookers on COVID-19-Related Charges
Authorities in Vietnam and Laos have arrested several Facebook users on charges related to the coronavirus, with Hanoi punishing posts that challenge official reporting on the pandemic and Vientiane acting against a lockdown violation streamed live. The two arrests in Vietnam come as the Communist Party ...
RFA’s Vietnamese and Lao Services. Translated by Huy Le and Max Avary. Written in English by Eugene Whong.
On the lookout for the silver lining: supporting e-commerce in Laos
13 to 16 April was Pi Mai, the Lao national holiday that welcomes in the Buddhist new year. Usually characterised by festive gatherings, water fights and the consumption of large quantities of Beer Lao, this year it was quiet and subdued, as the country of seven million entered ...
Tamara Failor, Nicola Nixon
Technology and e-commerce companies respond to the crisis
Services that deliver food, groceries, medical supplies and packages are among the few businesses thriving during the COVID-19 pandemic after local authorities ordered the closure of bars, dine-in restaurants, and entertainment facilities throughout much of Myanmar. More and more Myanmar people are practising social distancing ...
Andrew King
PM warns of fake Facebook pages
Prime Minister Hun Sen reminded Facebook users on Thursday not to be cheated by fake news spread by anonymous people. He said they used his name to post false news that misled the public, and that specialists have come up with ways to block such account ...
Long Kimmarita
Poor, Rural Students in Laos Lack Tech to Learn From Home
COVID-19 has forced Laos to join countries around the world in closing schools and using online distance learning. But rural and urban poor students in the Southeast Asian country not only lack computers and access to the internet — some even live in homes without ...
How governments shut the internet down to suppress dissent
Access Now, a non-profit digital rights advocacy group, has released its annual report on global internet shutdowns. The report reveals governments around world increasingly shutting down the internet, often to stifle dissent, and frequently doing so during times of protest or elections. The annual report, entitled ...
Rich Haridy
4,200 Line accounts hacked in Feb, including 2 in Thailand
A total of 4,225 registered accounts on messaging app Line, including two in Thailand, have been hacked in the last two weeks, with some used for phishing scams, according to the operator. Line Corp said 4,073 accounts in Japan, two in Thailand, 81 in Taiwan and ...
KYODO NEWS
Thailand's internet censorship rates 6/10
Thailand has received a score of 6 out of 10 in internet censorship, on a par with various regional peers, according to UK-based tech research firm Comparitech. A score of 6 was given to 17 countries, including Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, out of 150 ...
Suchit Leesa-Nguansuk
Vietnam focuses on cybersecurity to protect national interests
Rapid technological development has given people more ways to access and share information on the internet. It has also created conditions for more sophisticated cyber-attacks. Like other countries, Vietnam has a cybersecurity law to safeguard information and protect national security. According to a recent press release, the country ...
Samaya Dharmaraj
Ministry develops database on Vietnamese land, people
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has unveiled a database on Vietnamese land and people, which is set to serve research and studies. The database at was built for two years as a joint effort of the ministry’s Library Department, public and private libraries, publishing houses, relevant agencies, and leading ...