Stay alert - the law "On mass media" is coming!

On the gov.kz Advisory document of regulatory policy to the draft Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On mass media" has been published for discussion on the electronic government platform egov.kz.

Without any discussion, it is proposed to name the law- "On the Mass Media". But this title raises fundamental questions and objections.

Kazakh legislation does not contain such term as “mass media’. In fact, it  is an inaccurate borrowing from a foreign language. In democratic countries this term means any producers and suppliers of content for a mass audience.

It is obvious that the new term is introduced into the legislation solely in order to somehow control the activists of social networks. This relates to the "Problem 2 - Determining the status of mass media".

The authors of the document insist that "the differentiation of new types of mass communications will allow regulating the activities of those distributing mass information."

The grounds for additional regulation of this activity are not clear. It is already regulated by a large block of current legislation - laws on combating terrorism, on national security, on entrepreneurial activity, on advertising, on the media, on communications, criminal, civil, administrative codes, etc. Some of them, perhaps, should be supplemented, for example, the law "On Advertising" can be supplemented with rules of Internet advertising, and that's would be enough!

Secondly, “those distributing mass information” are practically the entire population of the country (except of babies). Systematizing them all on the basis of their use of social networks is the same as measuring the volume of the sea with a nutshell. Maybe it is done to further introduce new amendments restricting the right of citizens to freedom of expression? It seems so.

Paragraph 8 of the table, entitled "Analysis of the current situation, international experience and proposed regulatory mechanisms", states:

“Today, mass media can not just report, but also form public opinion, and thus it is  required to consider  responsibility for the accuracy of the information they publish.”

Attempts to "curb" the public activity of citizens by special legislative norms have been made for more than a year. We believe that they are based on an atavistic post-Soviet fear of uncontrolled public opinion. Instead of improving the skills of public communication and  participation in public discussions, officials prefer to introduce the draft law concept defining reliability of information and legal liability for its violation.

The question "what is reliable information?" is similar to the classic question "what is the truth?". There may be many correct answers, but in our realities, officials, of course, will argue that the only reliable information is the one  based on reports from official sources. Thus, the constitutional right of citizens to freedom of expression is deemed an illegal opportunity to share opinions, hopes, fears, wishes.

Information on other proposals of authorities experts, on tightening the registration of the media, in particular, will follow.