TMCnet News
Kazakh Internet community drafts law on fencesMay 22, May 22, 2009 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- The internet community of Kazakhstan has drafted a Law "On fences" in protest against a law adopted by the Government that classifies Internet resources as mass media. The law will be submitted for consideration to the Parliament. "The new law offers to classify fences as mass media and determines the legal bases for formation, exchange and data storage on fences. The law consists of eight articles including the main strands of government policy, the rights of fence readers and the restrictions on information distribution on fences," said Tamara Kaleyeva, President of the International Foundation for the Protection of Free Speech Adil Soz. She noted that the law aims to expose the complete absurdity of the Majilis amendments. "We will continue struggling. Tomorrow we are going to forward the law to the Senate - perhaps they will be more forward looking," she added. On May 13, the Majilis adopted a law that classifies Internet resources such as sites, chats, blogs, internet-shops and electronic libraries as mass media and imposes civil, administrative and criminal liabilities. Foreign internet resources will be blocked if their content contradicts Kazakh law. On May 13, Kazakh Internet users stopped using Kazakh Internet sites for an hour as a protest. The draft law has been submitted to the Senate. |