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While Kazakhstan’s new mass media law contains some amendments that could improve the situation, the vagueness and restrictiveness of other provisions of the law could create obstacles to the work of domestic and foreign journalists.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev sign June 19, replacing the law It’s the media and On TV and radio.
These improvements include reducing the statute of limitations for filing claims for media misinformation from three years to one year, and shortening the statutory review period for “information owners” to respond to media inquiries from seven working days to five working days. The introduction of a definition of “special status of journalists”, which is clearly intended to strengthen legal safeguards and protection for journalists, may also have a positive impact.
But before the law was passed, The country’s and International Media Expert Increase Other restrictive proposals in the draft raised concerns and calls for the Kazakh government to revise or withdraw the bill. While some controversial clauses were removed, several remained.
For example, the law expands the definition of mass media to include online publications, requiring them to register with an authorized government body and have a physical presence in Kazakhstan. It also gives the government broad powers to interfere with and suspend the work of foreign journalists and to deny registration to foreign media outlets if their material contains “extremist propaganda.” At the same time, Kazakhstan maintains Vague and overly broad The law does not define “extremism” and has been abused to punish legitimate, protected speech. The law prohibits foreign media and foreign journalists from engaging in professional activities without “proper accreditation,” a provision the government can use as a tool to deny, suspend, or revoke accreditation for journalists and media outlets that are critical of the authorities.
The law also authorizes authorities to conduct “mass media monitoring,” or overseeing all media outlets to ensure they comply with national legislation and do not violate undefined “national, cultural and family values.” This provision could lead to stricter self-censorship by journalists and limit the topics they can cover.
Kazakhstan’s new media law is the latest Threats to free speech and Media Freedom Kazakhstan’s international partners should remind the country’s authorities of their commitment to respect freedom of expression and urge them to bring the new law into line with international standards.
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