VOA慢速英语--报道称越南威胁关闭Facebook

Vietnam is reportedly threatening to shut Facebook in the country if the company does not accept government demands to restrict local content.

A Facebook official told Reuters that it has obeyed a government request from April to increase its censorship of "anti-state" posts for local users. But in August, Vietnam asked the social media service to increase restrictions² on posts seen as critical of the government.

"We made an agreement in April. Facebook has upheld our end of the agreement," said the official, who did not want to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject. "And we expected the government of Vietnam to do the same."

The official said the government had attempted to get Facebook "to increase the volume of content" it restricts in Vietnam. "We've told them no. That request came with some threats about what might happen if we didn't."

The threats included a complete shutdown of Facebook in Vietnam, where the company serves about 60 million users. Two sources told Reuters that Facebook is believed to earn yearly income of nearly $1 billion in Vietnam.

Facebook has faced growing pressure from governments over its content policies, including threats to create new rules and enforce fines. But it has avoided a complete ban in all but the few places where it has never been permitted to operate, such as China.

Vietnam has enacted³ major economic reforms and shown increasing openness to social change. But the country's ruling Communist Party keeps strict control over media and permits little opposition⁴. The country sits near the bottom of a list that rates nations on press freedoms.

When asked about the reported dispute, Vietnam's foreign ministry⁵ said in a statement to Reuters that Facebook should obey the country's laws. The company should also stop "spreading information that violates traditional Vietnamese customs and infringes⁷ upon state interests," the statement said.

A Facebook spokeswoman said the company had faced additional pressure from Vietnam to censor¹ more content in recent months.

Reuters reported in April that Facebook's local servers in Vietnam were taken offline early this year until it accepted all the government's demands.

Facebook has long faced criticism from rights groups for giving in too easily to government censorship requests.

When asked about Vietnam's reported threat to shut Facebook, an Amnesty International official said the fact that it had not already been banned shows the company could do more to resist government demands.

"Facebook has a clear responsibility to respect human rights wherever they operate in the world and Vietnam is no exception," said Amnesty's Ming Yu Hah. "Facebook is prioritizing profits in Vietnam, and failing to respect human rights," she said.

Words in This Story

censorship – n. the process of removing opinions from books, movies, letters and other media

uphold – v. to agree with and support a decision, principle or law

volume – n. the number of amount of something

source – n. person who gives information to the police, newspapers, etc.

infringe⁶ – v. to limit someone's rights or freedom

prioritize – v. decide which of a group of things are the most important so they can be dealt with first

1 censor   

n./vt.审查，审查员；删改

参考例句：

• The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
• The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。

2 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

3 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

4 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 infringe   

v.违反，触犯，侵害

参考例句：

• The jury ruled that he had infringed no rules.陪审团裁决他没有违反任何规定。
• He occasionally infringe the law by parking near a junction.他因偶尔将车停放在交叉口附近而违反规定。

7 infringes   

v.违反（规章等）( infringe的第三人称单数 )；侵犯（某人的权利）；侵害（某人的自由、权益等）

参考例句：

• Congressmen may be reluctant to vote for legislation that infringes the traditional prerogatives of the states. 美国国会议员可能不情愿投票拥护侵犯各州传统特权的立法。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• I can't say whether CP21 infringes it or not. 我就不能说CP21是否侵犯了SPOT的专利。 来自企业管理英语口语（第二版）(2)