Media Policy Institute commented on attempts to block 24.kg news agency website.
Human rights activists noted that the precedent involving the news agency shows that Gulshat Asylbaeva’s law on protection from inaccurate (false) information is nothing more than the use of the administrative resource against the media, which monitor the actions of the authorities and disclose information, help citizens understand how the government works.
«History is full of cases when the authorities accused journalists of being more dangerous for the country than the real enemies of society, which are corruption and nepotism in power. The further the authorities move away from the truth, the more they will hate those who say it. This so-called law is not against fakes, this law is against the truth,» Media Policy Institute noted.
The organization noted that the law, adopted with violations and contrary to the Constitution, now works illegitimately, persecuting independent media.
This is the new face of censorship in Kyrgyzstan and it seems that it indicates an intention to establish state control over independent news.
From the statement by Media Policy Institute
Earlier, the Minister of Culture Azamat Zhamankulov told that the ministry received the first complaint about the publication on social media.
«Information is blocked by the Ministry of Digital Development. So far, this is possible through local resources only. There is no possibility to do it through external ones, such as Facebook or Instagram. The Ministry of Digital Development is negotiating with them in order to develop legal mechanisms,» the minister explained.
Initiators of the law claimed that it was aimed at combating fakes on social media. But media experts warned that Gulshat Asylbaeva’s initiative would be used primarily against the media and journalists of Kyrgyzstan.
President Sadyr Japarov signed the Law on Protection from Inaccurate (False) Information, initiated by MP Gulshat Asylbaeva, on August 23, 2021.
