Adil Soz Foundation comments on statement by Minister of Culture and Information Aida Balayeva

The International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz” has commented on the official position of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information regarding the mass blocking of accounts belonging to independent media outlets and journalists.

Earlier, Minister Aida Balayeva stated that the ministry “does not block the social media accounts of users, including media outlets and journalists,” and that the state “has no interest in such actions or in restricting freedom of speech and opinion.”

However, such a position by the government body responsible for the media sector appears to amount to distancing itself from the problem. According to Sergei Utkin, a lawyer with the Adil Soz Foundation, the ministry’s role is not limited to declaring that it has no involvement in the attacks; it should also actively protect Kazakhstan’s information space from unlawful actions by third parties.

“Of course, we are grateful that it is not the state itself that is engaging in harmful actions against journalists. But taxpayers do not fund the ministry responsible for this sector merely so that, amid widespread blocking of independent journalists, officials can simply demonstrate that they had nothing to do with it and that their hands are clean.

It is clear that the Ministry of Culture and Information must present the public with concrete actions and solutions aimed at preventing what appear to be deliberately commissioned blocks of independent journalists’ accounts, apparently carried out with the involvement of malicious actors. What requests has the ministry sent to online platform owners to investigate and prevent such actions? What solutions have been proposed to ensure an immediate response when artificial intelligence algorithms are exploited by purportedly ‘affected’ complainants? Has the ministry asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to initiate criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Article 158 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan in connection with obstruction of journalists’ lawful professional activities involving damage to or destruction of their property?

After all, a social media account that a journalist has maintained for years, containing substantial amounts of high-quality content and attracting large numbers of followers and views, also falls within the concept of ‘property’, as it has real monetary value,” Sergei Utkin said.

The Adil Soz Foundation hopes to receive answers from the Ministry of Culture and Information to the questions raised above.