Vietnam has issued a new directive to curb the online circulation of “bad and poisonous information”.

Cybercafes are to be disconnected if they allow clients to access pornographic or anti-government websites and cafe owners are also instructed to monitor their customers’ use of the web.

The government is determined to prevent pro-democracy advocates using the internet to voice their opposition. Earlier this month two elderly dissidents were jailed for using the web to criticise the regime.

Only around four million people out of a population of 81 million people regularly surf the the Internet in Vietnam, mainly through cyber-cafes.

From Australian IT.