Vietnam's plan to block users puts internet access at risk

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Vietnam has an established track record of blocking online content criticizing the one-party state. Now it is proposing to go a step further by blocking the users themselves from accessing the internet.

The government has drafted rules to work with internet service providers (ISPs) to kick people offline if they share content deemed illegal, with implementation possible as early as this year. The move threatens to throttle web access further in a country where an estimated 1,000 websites, from those of the BBC to Freedom House, are already blocked.