Circular No. 26/2009/TT-BTTTT on providing information and ensuring convenient access to electronic information websites of state agencies

CIRCULAR

Provisions on the provision of information and ensuring convenient access to the electronic information website of state agencies

for the electronic information website of state agencies

____________________ 

MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Pursuant to the Law on Information Technology dated June 29, 2006;

Pursuant to Decree No. 64/2007/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2007 of the Government on the Application of Information Technology in the Activities of State Agencies;

Pursuant to Decree No. 97/2008/NĐ-CP dated August 28, 2008 of the Government on management, provision, and use of Internet services and electronic information on the Internet;

BASED ON THE GOVERNMENT DECREE NO. 187/2007/NĐ-CP OF DECEMBER 25, 2007 ON THE FUNCTIONS, TASKS, POWERS, AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Information Technology Application,

c) Enterprises may be granted permission for no more than one block out of the total three dual-frequency blocks (FDD) B

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the provision of information and ensures convenient access to the electronic information website of state agencies to facilitate organizations and individuals in easily exploiting and using such information.

The provision of information within the list of state secrets on the electronic information website must comply with laws on protecting state secrets.

Article 2. Applicability

1. This Circular applies to Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, agencies under the Government, and directly subordinate public institutions; People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities and their specialized agencies; People's Committees of districts, counties, towns directly under provinces, and provincial cities (hereinafter referred to as state agencies), which have electronic information websites.

2. It is encouraged that agencies and organizations not falling within the scope of application mentioned above apply and implement the provisions of this Circular appropriately.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

Strategic multi-purpose hydropower plant

1. Public administrative services are services related to law enforcement activities, not aimed at profit, provided by state agencies (or organizations, enterprises authorized) with competent authority to organizations and individuals in the form of various types of documents with legal validity in fields managed by those state agencies.

2. Online public services are administrative public services and other services of state agencies provided to organizations and individuals through the internet.

3. Level 1 online public service: is a service ensuring the provision of complete information about procedures, formalities; files; deadlines; fees and charges for implementing the service.

4. Level 2 online public service: is a level 1 online public service and allows users to download sample documents and declarations to complete the file according to requirements. The completed file is sent directly or through postal service to the agency or organization providing the service.

5. Level 3 online public service: is a level 2 online public service and allows users to fill out and submit online sample documents to the agency or organization providing the service. Transactions during the processing of the file and provision of the service are conducted over the network. Payment of fees (if any) and receipt of results are carried out directly at the agency or organization providing the service.

6. Level 4 online public service: is a level 3 online public service and allows users to pay fees (if any) online. Delivery of results can be done online, delivered directly, or through postal service to the user.

7. Web page is a document written in HTML or XHTML language and placed on the Internet via a unique and fixed address called URL. A web page may be one page or consist of multiple pages combined together, where one page is within another.

8. Home page is the first web page that a user sees when opening the electronic information website according to the registered and granted electronic information website address by the agency or organization.

Chapter II

INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION WEBSITE

Article 4. Main Information

1. The main information prescribed in Clause 2, Article 28 of the Law on Information Technology must include the following minimum contents:

a) Information introducing the organization, functions, tasks, and authorities of the agency and each subordinate unit:

- Organizational structure diagram;

- Functions, tasks, and authorities of each agency and subordinate unit;

- Summary of formation and development process;

- Full name, position, telephone number, official email address, and responsibilities of leaders in the unit;

- Transaction information: address, telephone number, fax number, official email address for transactions and receiving information.

b) System of specialized legal normative documents and related administrative management documents: form of document, issuing authority, document code, date of issuance, effective date, summary, downloadable document file.

c) Information on administrative procedures:

- Announcement of the list of public administrative services and online public services being implemented;

- Clearly specify the procedure, formalities, dossier, place of receipt, name and transaction information of the person directly processing the dossier, time limit for resolution, fees and charges (if applicable);

- For online public services: clearly specify the level of online public service.

d) Information for propaganda, dissemination, and guidance on the implementation of laws, systems, policies, strategies, and specialized planning: full text of systems, policies, strategies, and specialized planning.

đ) List of official email addresses of each subordinate unit and officials with authority: full name, position, telephone number, official email address.

e) Information on projects, investment items, bidding, and public procurement:

- List of projects under preparation for investment, ongoing projects, completed projects;

- Each project must have at least the following information: Project name, main objectives, field of expertise, type of project, implementation period, type of funding, sponsor, status of the project.

g) Section for soliciting opinions from organizations and individuals:

- List of issues seeking opinions (legal normative documents, policies, etc.);

- Each issue seeking opinions must provide the following information and functions: deadline for receiving opinions; full content of the issue seeking opinions; view content of submitted opinions; submit new opinions.

2. State agencies within their jurisdiction shall proactively publish information on directives and management including: opinions on directives and management by heads of state management agencies; responses to suggestions and requests from organizations and individuals; information on rewards and penalties for individuals, groups, enterprises; statistical information on specialized fields.

Article 5. Information for Search and Reference

1. For web pages, there must be minimum information including: page title, keywords, and descriptions to facilitate search operations.

2. For each news article, there must be at least information about the author, source of information, update time.

Article 6. Foreign Language Information

1. For electronic information websites of Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, agencies under the Government, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities: the minimum information prescribed in Point a, Clause 1, Article 4, and Point c, Clause 1, Article 4 (for online public services that foreigners can use) must be provided additionally in English for reference.

2. State agencies shall proactively provide information stipulated in Point d, Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular, information introducing history, geography, culture, people, economic potential, tourism, etc., in English and other languages.

Chapter III

ENSURE CONVENIENT ACCESSIBILITY

Article 7. Minimum Functions

1. Display the main information as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

2. Information search: Fully and accurately retrieve the content of the required information, news articles currently available on the electronic information website.

3. Display the site map of the electronic information website: Must fully and accurately reflect the structure of all information categories of the electronic information website and ensure correct linking to each information item or corresponding function.

4. Receive and respond to information from organizations and individuals.

5. Provide links to the Home page, About Us/Contact page, and Site Map at every information page.

6. Print and store information: Users can print the entire displayed screen or a full article in portrait orientation or according to their printer's settings on A4 paper. It is encouraged to include a function allowing storage of articles on storage devices according to the text standards specified in Decision No. 20/2008/QĐ-BTTTT dated April 9, 2008, of the Minister of Information and Communications.

Article 8. Interface and Layout

1. The interface must be convenient for users: Information areas must be clearly distinguished.

2. Main information items as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular must be arranged on the home page and placed in positions easily noticeable by users.

3. Layout of information on the home page of the electronic information website:

The layout on the home page screen includes five parts: the top header section, left information section, right information section, central main information section, and footer section.

a) Top header section: Contains the introductory title (banner) and horizontal functional menu:

- The introductory title is the top part of the home page with basic information: the emblem of the agency or the National Emblem and the full name of the agency in Vietnamese with formal font style. The content of the banner remains unchanged when users access the electronic information website or portal;

- Below the banner is the horizontal menu displaying functions such as: return to the homepage, featured sections, site map, contact information, language switching, and other functions.

b) Left information section: Displays links to main information categories such as: introduction to the agency, news and events, online public services, reception of opinions and suggestions, legal document lookup, search, link to the electronic information website, and statistics on website visits and other information categories.

c) Right information section: Displays links to special categories such as: newly received information, prominent events, announcements, special sections of the agency, advertisements, and other special categories.

d) Central main information section: Located in the center of the information page, it displays main article titles, selected articles, or information from the chosen category or function. There is a display line showing the path from the outer category to the current category so that viewers know which category they are viewing.

đ) Footer section: Displays copyright information and information about the state agency with the electronic information website. Basic information that needs to be fully displayed includes: unit name, person responsible, address, contact phone number, and email address of the unit.

Article 9. Ensuring Consistency, Compliance with Standards and Bandwidth

1. Use the Vietnamese Character Set Code Unicode according to standard TCVN 6909:2001.

2. Audio data, images, downloadable files provided on the electronic information page must comply with the standards for applying information technology in state agencies as stipulated in Decision No. 20/2008/QD-BTTTT dated April 9, 2008, issued by the Minister of Information and Communications.

3. Images on the information page should be smaller than 30 KB. If the image size is larger, a slider should be used and a link to a new page to display the larger image should be provided.

4. The total capacity (including content and attached files (if any) containing HTML, XHTML, JavaScript, audio, images, etc.) downloaded to fully display one information page on the user's computer should be less than 500 KB.

Article 10. Supporting Persons with Disabilities to Access Information

1. All functions can be performed from the keyboard, providing shortcut keys to access minimum functions on the electronic information page (Home Page, Site Map, Search, Introduction). It is encouraged to integrate technologies that support persons with disabilities to access information on the information page.

2. Ensure reasonable color and contrast. The combination between background color and text color must have clear contrast to assist people with color blindness in easily recognizing them. Limit the use of colors to emphasize content within a paragraph of text. Encourage the provision of a function allowing users to change the color and contrast between background and text colors.

3. Provide equivalent information: it is necessary to provide a text description line describing the equivalent information content for non-text objects such as icons, images, confirmation buttons, artistic characters, charts, graphs, and all links on images; a text description line depicting the main content information of sound and video objects.

4. Do not use flashing or automatically moving text or objects to ensure that screen readers can be used when necessary.

5. Presenting table data:

a) Provide summary information for data tables to describe what the table represents and the names of column or row headings;

b) Use marking techniques to link data cells with corresponding heading cells for data tables with multiple levels of column or row headings;

c) Do not use tables to format the structure of the information page.

6. Information Orientation:

a) Use meaningful phrases to attach to a hyperlink or use the title attribute to provide additional information to clarify or describe more specifically the purpose of a link;

b) Use the heading attribute to divide sections of content information within a page.

Chapter IV

ENSURING THE OPERATION OF THE ELECTRONIC INFORMATION PAGE

Article 11. Ensuring Human Resources

1. The heads of state agencies mentioned in Clause 1 of Article 2 of this Circular are responsible for directing the operation of the electronic information page.

2. State agencies must ensure sufficient human resources to perform:

a) Managing the electronic information page including managing, operating, and maintaining the activities of the electronic information page. Management staff are trained annually to update their knowledge about information management, technology, and techniques;

b) Editing information onto the electronic information page. Editing staff must have journalism skills to process and provide information.

Article 12. Time and Frequency of Updating Information on the Electronic Information Website

1. New information must be updated at least once daily during working days, with encouragement to update regularly even on non-working days.

For the minimum information prescribed in Article 4 and foreign language information specified in Article 6, such information must be frequently reviewed and promptly updated when there is any occurrence or change.

2. Time for Providing Information:

a) For legal normative documents of agencies: no later than two working days from the date of issuance;

b) For news and events: provide information immediately upon the occurrence of the activity or event.

3. Handling Feedback Information:

a) The state agency assigns a focal unit: to receive opinions and feedback information sent through the electronic information website or via the email box designated for receiving opinions and feedback information; to forward the information to units responsible for responding; to send immediate notification of receipt to organizations and individuals;

b) The focal unit shall perform the tasks stipulated in point a, Clause 3, Article 12 of this Circular at least once each working day;

c) No later than ten working days from the date of receipt of the information, the state agency has the responsibility to respond with the result or to inform about the process of handling the information to organizations and individuals.

Article 13. Ensuring Information and Data Security

1. Ensure safety and confidentiality at multiple levels: network level, user authentication level, database level.

2. Authentication and Encryption of Data:

a) Have mechanisms for authentication, access authorization, and encryption of information and data for accessing information and services that require identification of the user to ensure the security of the electronic information website during operation and maintenance;

b) The authentication and encryption mechanism for information and data comply with the information security standards set forth in Decision No. 20/2008/QĐ-BTTTT dated April 9, 2008, of the Minister of Information and Communications.

3. Data Backup:

a) Regularly perform data backup (at least once per week) to ensure rapid recovery of system operations in case of incidents;

b) Minimum data required for backup: system configuration data (user management; information channel setup,...); database storing content and related data.

Article 14. Maintenance, Repair, Operation, Upgrade, and Modification of the Electronic Information Website

1. The electronic information website must be regularly inspected, maintained, repaired, and monitored to ensure continuous operation 24 hours a day throughout all days.

2. Annually, the electronic information website must be reviewed and proposals made for upgrading and modifying to meet actual needs.

Article 15. Responsibilities of State Agencies

1. Ensure investment in building the electronic information website in sync with the plan for applying information technology in the activities of state agencies and developing the e-Government.

2. Ensure funding for establishing and regularly updating information; maintaining and annual maintenance for the electronic information website.

3. Organize widespread promotion of the electronic information website to the public, encourage and promote creativity in managing, maintaining, and utilizing the electronic information website.

4. Develop regulations for governance, operation, and provision of information for the electronic information website of the unit.

Chapter V

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 16. Responsibilities of Related Units

1. The Department of Information Technology Application - Ministry of Information and Communications is responsible for promoting and guiding the implementation of the contents of this Circular; annually evaluating and ranking the electronic information websites of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, provincial people's committees, and centrally-administered municipalities.

2. The Department of Science and Technology - Ministry of Information and Communications is responsible for organizing research, construction, and proposing the issuance of technical standards and norms related to the design, construction, development, operation, utilization, upgrade, and repair of electronic information websites.

3. Provincial Departments of Information and Communications have the responsibility to: promote, disseminate, and guide the implementation of the contents of this Circular for local state agencies.

4. Specialized units for information technology of ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and government-affiliated agencies have the responsibility to guide the implementation of the provisions of this Circular for subordinate units.

Article 17. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from September 15, 2009.

2. During the implementation process, if any issues arise or difficulties occur, relevant agencies and organizations need to promptly reflect them to the Ministry of Information and Communications for consideration, supplementation, and amendment./.