15:42, 19 апреля 2024, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Baktygul OSMONALIEVA
Access to TikTok social media platform is blocked in Kyrgyzstan. The Ministry of Digital Development reported.
According to it, the decision was made on the basis of a letter from the State Committee for National Security of the Kyrgyz Republic.
«The Service for Regulation and Supervision in the Communications Industry sent a letter to Internet providers about the need to take measures to limit access to the specified service. The basis for the decision was the failure of the specified service to comply with Article 2-1 of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic «On measures to prevent harm to the health of children, and physical, intellectual, mental, spiritual and moral development in the Kyrgyz Republic,» according to which the types of information that are harmful to health and the development of children are determined,» the statement says.
Recall, the Service for Regulation and Supervision in the Communications Industry under the Ministry of Digital Development sent a letter to the country’s Internet providers asking them to restrict access to TikTok social media platform.
Previously, the agency received a letter from the State Committee for National Security. It says that «there is no systematic and principled approach to censorship of content,» in particular in the children’s information space, in the Kyrgyz segment of TikTok.
The Ministry of Culture sent a request to block TikTok to the Ministry of Digital Development at the end of August last year.
The Ministry of Digital Development was asked to block TikTok in Kyrgyzstan. The department noted that the number of requests expressing concern from a number of non-governmental organizations about the harmful effects of TikTok social media platform, which negatively affects the mental development and health of children, has been increased.
This decision caused a wide resonance both in society and among experts. The opinion has been spread that the ban on the popular social media platform will aggravate the problems of small and medium-sized businesses, damage freedom of speech and democracy in the Kyrgyz Republic, and reduce opportunities for self-expression among young people.