2 posts and columns on James Hookway

In Vietnam, State "Friends" You

in News on October 5, 2010 at 12:00 am PT

The Internet poses a challenge for authoritarian regimes around the world. But Vietnam’s leaders think they have figured out a new way to tame it–by launching their own, Communist-friendly answer to popular social-networking sites like Facebook.

Web Censoring Widens Across Southeast Asia

in News on September 14, 2009 at 12:05 am PT

Attempts to censor the Internet are spreading to Southeast Asia as governments turn to coercion and intimidation to rein in online criticism. Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam lack the kind of technology and financial resources that China and some other large countries use to police the Internet.