A group of 50 Vietnamese activists and rights organisations have written an open letter to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg suggesting his company may be colluding with communist authorities to scrub out online dissent. “We urge you to reconsider your company’s aggressive practices that could silence human rights activists and citizen journalists in Vietnam,” it added. “My Facebook account reflects my critical opinions and enables my right to talk about democracy, press freedom and freedom of expression in Vietnam,” said Son. Activists have said the online brigade, dubbed ‘Force 47’, has flooded their sites with pro-government commentary and harassment. Unlike in China, Vietnam does not employ a Firewall to block major social media sites, although Facebook access is sometimes interrupted during protests in the country.

Source: Hindustan Times April 10, 2018 10:41 UTC