Chương IV Luật Công nghệ thông tin 2006: Biện pháp đảm bảo ứng dụng và phát triển công nghệ thông tin

Chapter IV

MEASURES TO ENSURE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Section 1. INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE IN SERVICE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY APPLICATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Article 54.- Principles for information infrastructure development

1. Information infrastructure must be developed to ensure the quality and diversification of services with a view to meeting the requirements of information technology application and development.

2. Competent state agencies shall guarantee the development of information infrastructure to satisfy socio-economic development requirements; create conditions for all economic sectors to use the information infrastructure in an environment of fair, equitable and transparent competition; and take comprehensive measures to prevent acts of abusing the information infrastructure to commit violations defined in Article 12 of this Law.

Article 55.- Ensuring information infrastructure in service of information technology application and development

1. The State shall adopt policies to develop the national information infrastructure in a wide range, with a large capacity, high speed and quality and competitive charges compared to those in regional countries; encourages organizations and individuals to jointly invest in and use the information infrastructure.

2. Public Internet access points shall be installed at post offices, communal post-culture points, railway stations, car terminals, seaports, airports, border gates, residential areas, hospitals, schools, department stores, and cultural and sport centers to meet organizations' and individuals' demands.

Article 56.- Information infrastructure in service of state agencies

1. The information infrastructure in service of state agencies from the central to local level shall be uniformly built and managed under the Government's regulations.

2. Funds for investment in, construction, exploitation and maintenance of the information infrastructure in service of state agencies come from the state budget and other sources.

Article 57.- Public-service information infrastructure

1. The State shall adopt policies of prioritizing the allocation of investment capital and applying financial support mechanisms for the construction and use of public-service information infrastructure and the narrowing of digital gap.

2. Agencies in charge of state management of information technology at all levels shall organize the execution of programs and projects on narrowing the digital gap, including:

a/ Installation of computers and Internet access points at schools and public places nationwide;

b/ Development of a contingent of computer use and Internet access instructors;

c/ Narrowing of digital gap between areas and regions.

Article 58.- National databases

1. A national database is a collection of information on one or several socio-economic domains, which is established, updated and maintained to meet the information access and use requirements of all economic sectors and serve public interests.

2. Unless otherwise provided for by law, organizations and individuals may access and use information in national databases.

3. The State shall provide part or whole of funds for the establishment and maintenance of the national databases.

4. The Government shall specify the list of national databases; establish, update and maintain the national databases; and promulgate a regulation on exploitation and use of the national databases.

Article 59.- Databases of ministries, branches and localities

1. The database of a ministry, branch or locality is a collection of information, which is established, updated and maintained to meet information access and use requirements of that ministry, branch or locality and serve public interests.

2. Unless otherwise provided for by law, organizations and individuals may access and use information in databases of ministries, branches or localities.

3. The State shall provide part or whole of funds for the establishment and maintenance of databases of ministries, branches and localities.

4. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies and provincial/municipal People's Committees shall specify lists of databases; establish, update and maintain databases; and promulgate regulations on exploitation and use of databases of their ministries, branches and localities.

Article 60.- Protection of information infrastructure

1. The national information infrastructure must be protected. People's Committees of all levels, people's armed forces, organizations and individuals that manage or exploit the information infrastructure shall coordinate with one another in protecting the safety of the national information infrastructure.

2. Organizations and individuals shall guarantee the safety of the information infrastructure under their management; submit to the management, inspection and examination by competent state agencies and meet those agencies' requirements on ensuring information infrastructure safety and information security.

3. When requested, organizations and individuals that manage and exploit the information infrastructure shall create necessary working, technical and professional conditions for competent state agencies to control and ensure the information security.

Section 2. INVESTMENT IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Article 61.- Investment in information technology by organizations and individuals

1. The State encourages organizations and individuals to invest in application of information technology to socio-economic management and technological renewal and to raising of products' competitiveness.

2. The State encourages and protects the legitimate rights and interests of domestic organizations and individuals, overseas Vietnamese, and foreign organizations and individuals that invest in information technology.

3. Enterprises' investments in information technology application and development and expenses below shall be excluded from taxable incomes under the Law on Enterprise Income Tax:

a/ Expenses for establishing schools or providing courses for information technology training in enterprises;

b/ Expenses for sending trainees to learn new technologies in service of information technology application and development demands of enterprises.

Article 62.- State investment in information technology

1. Investment in information technology is development investment.

2. The State shall prioritize the budget allocation for information technology, ensuring that the annual increase rate of budget expenditure on information technology shall be higher than the increase rate of state budget expenditure. Budget reserved for information technology must be managed and efficiently used.

3. The Government shall promulgate an investment management regulation applicable to information technology application projects funded with investment capital originating from the state budget.

4. The State Budget Index must have separate expenditures on information technology.

Article 63.- Investment in information technology application and development

1. The state budget expenditure on information technology application and development shall be used for the following purposes:

a/ Universalizing the information technology application and efficiently supporting information technology application projects;

b/ Developing digital information sources;

c/ Establishing national databases and databases of ministries, branches and localities;

d/ Building the information infrastructure in service of the public and state agencies;

e/ Surveying, researching into, formulating, testing and applying scientific and technical advances in information technology; formulating mechanisms, policies, strategies, plannings, plans, standards, technical regulations, econo-technical norms, and models of information technology application and development;

f/ Developing information technology human resources;

g/ Propagating, popularizing and educating law on information technology; providing professional and management training on information technology;

h/ Presenting information technology awards;

i/ Carrying out other activities for information technology application and development.

2. The Ministry of Post and Telematics shall synthesize annual estimates of expenditures of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-attached agencies, provinces and centrally run cities on information technology application and development as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article and send them to the Government for submission to the National Assembly.

Article 64.- Information technology investment and development in service of agriculture and rural areas

1. To attract all resources for investment in building the information infrastructure and accelerate the modernization in rural, mountainous and island areas.

2. To create favorable conditions for people in deep-lying or remote areas, regions inhabited by ethnic minority people, areas meeting with socio-economic difficulties or exceptional socio-economic difficulties to apply information technology to their production and life.

3. Organizations and individuals engaged in information technology application and development in deep-lying or remote areas, regions inhabited by ethnic minority people, areas meeting with socio-economic difficulties or exceptional socio-economic difficulties are entitled to investment, financial and other preferences in accordance with law.

4. The information technology application and provision of information technology services to agricultural, forestry and fishery extension as well as offshore fishing shall be partly funded by the State.

Section 3. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Article 65.- Principles for international cooperation on information technology

Vietnamese organizations and individuals shall cooperate on information technology with foreign organizations and individuals and international organizations on the principles of respect for the national independence and sovereignty, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefits.

Article 66.- Contents of international cooperation on information technology

1. Analyzing the international information technology trend, the scale and perspective of developing foreign markets; and formulating strategies on development of overseas information technology markets.

2. Popularizing information on information technology application and development orientations and policies of Vietnam and other countries in the world.

3. Formulating mechanisms and policies to step up cooperation between Vietnamese organizations or individuals and foreign organizations or individuals as well as international organizations operating in the information technology domain.

4. Executing international cooperation programs and projects on information technology.

5. Developing overseas information technology markets, introducing Vietnamese information technology products at international exhibitions and approaching potential customers.

6. Holding international workshops, conferences and forums on information technology.

7. Concluding, acceding to and implementing bilateral and multilateral treaties, and joining regional and international information technology organizations.

8. Receiving foreign technologies transferred into Vietnam.

Section 4. PROTECTION OF LEGITIMATE RIGHTS AND INTERESTS OF, AND ASSISTANCE FOR, USERS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Article 67.- Responsibility to protect legitimate rights and interests of users of information technology products and services

The State and society shall take measures to prevent and combat acts infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of users of information technology products and services. The legitimate rights and interests of users of information technology products and services shall be protected in accordance with law.

Article 68.- Protection of Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn"

1. Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn" and their lower-level domain names constitute part of national information resources, which are of the same utility and must be managed, exploited and used for proper purposes and with efficiency.

The State encourages organizations and individuals to register and use Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn". Registered domain names must be serious to avoid confusion or distortion caused by polysyllabic or polysemantic words or when being used without Vietnamese language accents.

2. Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn" reserved for Party organizations and state agencies must be protected and not be infringed upon.

3. Organizations and individuals that register to use Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn" shall be responsible before law for their use purposes and the accuracy of registered information and ensure that the registration and use of Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn" do not infringe upon the legitimate rights and interests of other organizations or individuals, which are available before the date of registration.

4. The Ministry of Post and Telematics shall specify the registration, management and use of, and settle disputes over, Vietnamese national domain names ending in ".vn".

Article 69.- Protection of intellectual property rights in the information technology domain

The protection of intellectual property rights in the information technology domain shall comply with the law on intellectual property and the following regulations:

1. Organizations and individuals that transmit information in the network environment may make a temporary copy of a protected work according to the technical requirements of information transmission and that temporary copy shall be stored in a period of time which is long enough for information transmission;

2. Lawful users of protected software may reproduce that software for standby storage and replacement of the damaged software without asking for permission or paying copyright royalties.

Article 70.- Prevention of spam

1. When sending information in the network environment, organizations and individuals may not hide their names or impersonate other organizations or individuals.

2. Organizations and individuals that send advertisement information in the network environment shall assure consumers' ability to reject the advertisement information.

3. Organizations and individuals may not continue sending advertisement information in the network environment to consumers if the latter notify their refusal to receive the advertisement information.

Article 71.- Prevention of computer virus and harmful software

Organizations and individuals may not create, install or spread computer viruses or harmful software into digital equipment of other people in order to perform one of the following acts:

1. Changing installation parameters of digital equipment;

2. Collecting other people's information;

3. Deleting or deactivating the information safety and security-ensuring software installed in digital equipment;

4. Preventing users from deleting or limiting the use of unnecessary software;

5. Usurping the right to monitor digital equipment;

6. Modifying or deleting information stored in digital equipment;

7. Other acts infringing upon users' legitimate rights and interests.

Article 72.- Assurance of information safety and confidentiality

1. Organizations' and individuals' lawful personal information which is exchanged, transmitted or stored in the network environment shall be kept confidential in accordance with law.

2. Organizations and individuals may not perform any of the following acts:

a/ Hacking into, modifying or deleting information of other organizations or individuals in the network environment;

b/ Obstructing the provision of services by the information system;

c/ Preventing the access to information of other organizations or individuals in the network environment, unless it is so permitted by law;

d/ Cracking, stealing or using passwords, codes or information of other organizations or individuals in the network environment;

e/ Other acts of causing unsafety to, or disclosing confidentiality of, other organizations' or individuals' information which is exchanged, transmitted or stored in the network environment.

Article 73.- Responsibility to protect children

1. The State, society and schools have the following responsibilities:

a/ To protect children against negative impacts of information in the network environment;

b/ To take measures to prevent and combat information technology applications with violence-inciting or obscene contents.

2. Families shall prevent children from accessing harmful information.

3. Competent state agencies shall take the following measures to prevent children from accessing harmful information in the network environment:

a/ Building, and disseminating the use of, content filter;

b/ Creating and disseminating tools to prevent children from accessing information harmful to them;

c/ Guiding the establishment and management of websites exclusively for children with a view to promoting the establishment of websites with information contents suitable and not harmful to children; raising the capability to manage information contents in the network environment, which are suitable and not harmful to children.

4. Service providers shall take measures to prevent children from accessing harmful information in the network environment.

5. Information technology products and services with contents harmful to children must bear warning signs.

Article 74.- Supporting disabled people

1. The State shall encourage and create favorable conditions for disabled people to participate in information technology application and development activities and develop their working capacity through information technology application and development; adopt preferential policies for them to participate in information technology-related education and training programs.

2. National information technology development strategies, plans and policies must cover contents on supporting and guaranteeing disabled people's integration into the community.

3. The State shall adopt tax, credit and other preferential policies for the following activities:

a/ Research into and development of tools and applications aiming to raise disabled people's capability to access and use sources of information and knowledge by using computers and information infrastructure;

b/ Production and supply of technologies and information technology equipment, services and applications, as well as digital information contents to meet specific demands of disabled people.