Privacy becomes “more expensive” than ever before By Dr. Thai Thi Tuyet Dung(*) The right to privacy in Vietnam has changed considerably. The 2013 Constitution rules that “everybody is entitled to imprescriptible right to personal life.” - PHOTO: UYEN VIEN In this era of booming information technology, infringements of privacy and personal data on social media have continuously increased in frequency. Easy access to the Internet plus the widespread popularity of cheap electronic gadgets capable of filming, photographing and recording is fertile ground for other people to monitor and interfere in others’ life without the latter’s consent. It is more difficult to define the jurisdiction of “the right to privacy” in this digital age if it is juxtaposed with other freedoms, such as freedom of the press, the right to access information and freedom of speech. Social networks have helped citizens exercise their democratic rights and express their attitude towards social issues. However, some have taken advantage of social media to blatantly violate others privacy, including revelation of personal life, revelation of bank information, defamation, intrusion of mobile phones to extract sensitive images or personal data for sale. The number of handled violations remain humble, though. Over the years, the right to privacy in Vietnam has changed considerably. The 2013 Constitution rules that “everybody is entitled to imprescriptible right to personal life;” and “nobody is entitled to illegally opening, controlling, or taking hold of and keeping other people’s correspondence, telephones, telegraphs and other forms of information exchange.” These stipulations were later stated in Article 38 of the 2015 Civil Code, which says that “personal life, personal secrets and family secrets are imprescriptible and protected by law,” and “personal life” has a wider scope than “personal secret.” Despite these conspicuous regulations, privacy in Vietnam is …
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