KAZAKHSTAN: DRAFT LAW WOULD EXPAND STATE REGULATION OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 000345 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR SCA/CEN, IIC, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KPAO KDEM OSCE KZ SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: DRAFT LAW WOULD EXPAND STATE REGULATION OF INTERNET ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Mazhilis -- i.e. the lower house of Kazakhstan's parliament -- is currently considering a draft package of amendments that would, if passed in its current form, greatly increase state regulation of Internet content and grant the Procurator General's Office the right to block any site, foreign or domestic, whose content contradicts Kazakhstan's domestic legislation. The Agency for Information and Communication defends the draft as a necessary step in updating the country's legislation and protecting the privacy of citizens. Civil society activists have sharply criticized the draft and say the law would open the door for the government to censor the Internet. Some analysts have speculated that the real purpose of the legislation is to block damaging web-postings from President Nazarbayev's former son-in-law, Rakhat Aliyev. END SUMMARY. DRAFT INTERNET LAW BEFORE THE MAZHILIS ¶3. (U) The Mazhilis -- i.e. the lower house of Kazakhstan's parliament -- is currently considering a package of legislative amendments that would expand the state's regulatory powers over content posted on the Internet. When presenting the draft amendments to the Mazhilis, the Chairman of the Agency for Information and Communications, Kuanyshbek Yesekeyev, argued that the goals of the changes are to bring regulations that govern the Internet up-to-date and assure greater protection of the private information of Kazakhstani citizens. Yesekeyev maintained that his agency drafted the amendments in response to public concerns over "the appearance of private information on the Internet." He argued that legislative changes would increase "transparency" and give the state the tools to track down "who posted what information." The draft law is a step forward in protecting the constitutional rights of citizens and legal entities, he insisted. The legislative package, which would update the Administrative and Civil Codes, the Law on Communications, the Law on the Media, and the Law on National Security, is currently being reviewed by a Mazhilis ad hoc working group. NEW RESTRICTIONS ADDED ¶4. (U) The draft package of amendments, if adopted in its current form, would grant the state purview not only over domestic websites, but also foreign websites, chat rooms, blogs, and e-libraries. It would redefine all Internet resources, including chat and blog sites, as "media outlets," making them subject to Kazakhstan's media legislation. The draft amendments would also tighten up the liability of foreign media, granting the state the power to block any foreign site that contains information that contradicts Kazakhstan's national legislation, although it is not clear which agency would be responsible for checking the sites' content. An amendment to the Law on National Security would grant the security services the right to filter information coming from foreign providers and block information disruptive to national security. The Procurator General's Office would be empowered to suspend any Internet outlet for three days, without a court ruling, if the outlet's content "breaches the law and such a breach can cause significant harm to the interests of society and the nation." The power to suspend the outlet for longer than three days would lie with the Astana City Court, which would issue its decision following a "special procedure," i.e., without the presence of the defendant. ¶5. (U) The draft legislation would also expand the grounds for suspension or closure of media outlets -- which would apply to traditional media outlets, such as newspapers, as well as to the Internet. In addition to the existing and rather long list of such grounds, the law would grant the state the power to shut down media outlets for information that violates the regulations governing political campaigning; forces people to participate or not participate in a strike, peaceful protest, pickets, or demonstration; and incites inter-ethnic or inter-confessional conflict. ASTANA 00000345 002 OF 002 SHARP CRITICISM FROM CIVIL SOCIETY ¶6. (U) Kazakhstan's media-freedom activists have levied sharp criticism against the draft legislation. A group of journalists and civil society activists issued a statement demanding that the government recall the law immediately. Tamara Kaleyeva, the head of Adil Soz, a leading media watchdog NGO, said the law would "impose severe censorship" on all websites. She harshly criticized the provision that would grant the prosecutors the right to suspend Internet outlets without a court order. "This will turn into complete tyranny" by the Procurator General, which will be vested with the power to decide which sites are harmful," she argued. ¶7. (U) Seitkazy Matayev, Chairman of the Union of Journalists, likened the draft law to the Internet-censorship policy practiced by the Chinese government. Kazakhstan was already following the Chinese pattern of "economy first, politics second," he argued, and now it will copy China's policy on Internet freedom. Matayev nevertheless mocked any attempt to block information flow on the Internet as "unrealistic." He conceded that Kazakhstan needs to update its Internet regulations, but argued that a good law can only be written with the cooperation of website owners and journalists. CIVIL SOCIETY LOBBIES FOR CHANGES ¶8. (SBU) Several civil society activists, including Kaleyeva and Matayev, have attended meetings of the Mazhilis working group considering the legislation. According to Kaleyeva, the parliamentarians are not open to hearing civil society's input. She told us that in the last session she attended, the working group was studying technical avenues of blocking websites. Kaleyeva plans to approach the Ministry of Information and Culture, as well as the Agency for Information and Communications itself, to share civil society's concerns with the legislation. OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media Miklos Haraszti sent a letter to Mazhilis Chairman Mukhamedzhanov and Senate President Tokayev on February 6, urging the parliament to consider the input of civil society, to carefully consider which Internet sites should be labeled "media outlets," and to abolish any limits on access to foreign media. ¶9. (SBU) COMMENT: Some media analysts have speculated that the draft legislation has a singular purpose -- to block the damaging web postings of Rakhat Aliyev, President Nazarbayev's exiled former son-in-law. Be that as it may, the draft law contains several provisions that could, if applied to their full extent, greatly increase the state's control over all Internet content. We will continue to monitor the progress of the legislation and will work with like-minded partners to urge the government to take into consideration the views of civil society and the OSCE's Haraszti. END COMMENT. HOAGLAND