Adil Soz Foundation’s Official Facebook Page Restored

On October 30, Facebook restored the official page of the International Foundation for Protection of Freedom of Speech “Adil Soz,” three days after it had been blocked following a complaint alleging copyright infringement. The foundation challenged the platform’s decision and sought assistance from international human rights organizations.

On October 27, Facebook removed a post published by the foundation on October 6 concerning the rules governing journalists’ work at the Kurultai.

The article covered an official warning issued to the editorial team of Ulysmedia.kz after its journalist, Asem Gumarova, asked questions unrelated to the agenda of a briefing at the Kurultai. The publication also included a legal analysis of the incident by the foundation’s lawyer, Sergey Utkin.

It later emerged that both the removal of the post and the suspension of the entire Facebook page had been triggered by a copyright infringement complaint. However, the information provided about the complainant raised serious doubts within the foundation as to whether a person by that name actually existed.

The alleged copyright holder was identified as “Nihao Kaonima” — a combination of words in which the first means “hello” in Chinese, while the second resembles a vulgar Chinese insult.

Furthermore, the complainant provided no website or other online resource that could establish a connection to the allegedly copyrighted material. According to the foundation, the email address used to submit the complaint had been created on October 26 at 09:23 UTC, just one day before the page was blocked.

The foundation submitted appeals to Meta, requesting that the company verify the complainant’s identity and whether they had any legitimate claim to the copyright in question.

Adil Soz also sought assistance from the international organizations Access Now and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On October 30, the foundation’s Facebook page became accessible again.