Social Media - The Times Of Central Asia

Viewing results 1 - 6 of 9

Kyrgyzstan’s Culture Ministry Wants to Fine People for Spreading “Disinformation” Online

Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy has proposed issuing fines to people who promote 'disinformation' online. According to the proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses, citizens who are found to have spread false information through media, websites, or social networks could be fined up to 100,000 KGS (about $1,200). For legal entities, the amount will be 200,000 KGS (about $2,400). The ministry emphasized that in recent years there has been an increase in cases where false information on the internet has led to conflicts and a deterioration in public sentiment. However, this has sparked debate in society and among human rights activists, who fear that such measures could limit freedom of expression and lead to the control of journalists and internet users. The ministry had previously proposed other amendments, which would allow fines to be imposed for libel and slander in the media and online.

Freedom of Speech Social Media Media Freedom Government Legislation

Kyrgyzstan Establishes Center for “Information Security”

Kyrgyzstan has created the Information Environment Research Center (IERC), which will be part of the Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports, and Youth Policy; its main task is to monitor and analyze the country's information space in order to protect citizens' rights and freedoms and prevent the spread of misinformation and inaccurate information. The Center will identify and block illegal content on the internet and in the media and cooperate with the administrations of major social networks such as Facebook, Google, and TikTok. It will monitor compliance with legislation in the information sphere and provide recommendations on improving the information environment in Kyrgyzstan. The establishment of the Center is part of the state strategy to strengthen information security and control the observance of citizens' rights in the media space. Earlier, we reported that a unified TV channel and a regional media platform could appear in Central Asia, which would become important elements in strengthening information security and cultural exchange in the region. This year, Central Asia, and Kazakhstan in particular, has been the subject of swathes on disinformation on the internet. However, independent media in Kyrgyzstan has been the target of repression by the authorities, which UN Special Rapporteurs have denounced.

Social Media Media Freedom

TikTok Users Struggle to Access App after Kyrgyzstan Announces Restrictions

Kyrgyzstan is restricting access to TikTok. The Ministry of Digital Development sent a letter to internet providers, asking them to block the TikTok social media platform, local media has reported. The ministry cited the network´s failure to comply with a law designed to “prevent harm to the health of children, their physical, intellectual, mental, spiritual and moral development.” The ministry said it took action after receiving a memorandum from Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security about TikTok, whose owner is the Chinese firm, ByteDance. Users reported “difficulties and interruptions” in using TikTok, which was still accessible via some providers, the 24.kg news agency reported on Thursday. Opponents of the restrictions on video-based TikTok say it is part of a clampdown on free speech and other basic rights in Kyrgyzstan. They note that the authorities arrested some journalists in a separate case, and the parliament passed a law tightening control over non-governmental groups that get foreign funding. In the wake of this, the George Soros funded, Open Society Foundations, which claims it has spent more than $115 million on projects in education, public health, criminal justice, supplying water to rural communities and other areas since it opened in 1993, said earlier this week that it was closing down its Kyrgyz branch. Government officials in Kyrgyzstan started to move against TikTok last year, saying that some social networks were having a negative effect on children. The U.S. Congress is also fast-tracking legislation that would ban TikTok unless ByteDance sells its stake, with a vote due on Saturday. There are concerns in the U.S. that the app could share user data with the Chinese government; TikTok has said it is owned by a private company and doesn’t share such data.