The Ministry of Information and Social Development of Kazakhstan is developing a new law on mass media. The current law, adopted in July 1999, according to both Kazakhstani journalists and international human rights organizations, is not only morally outdated, but also doesn’t withstand any criticism.
As ACCA has already reported, the relevant department has been giving out promises to develop a new law on the media for a long time – since 2017. In 2018, Adil soz (the international foundation for the protection of freedom of speech in Kazakhstan, which protects the rights of journalists in the country) even approached the ministry with an offer to help in developing a draft law.
“Adil soz foundation immediately applied to the ministry with a proposal for cooperation in the development of a new bill and received a response in January 2018 signed by Vice Minister A. Azhibaev. In it, after pleasant words and explanations of how difficult the work on the project is, it was unambiguously promised: ‘The ministry will inform you without fail about the start of the development of a new bill in the field of information’. At the end of 2018, the then director of the State Media Policy Department, Bekzat Rakhimov, said, “This will be a new law. We conducted a study with which option to go out into society. Will it be the law “On mass media”, or will it unite the existing laws? That is, it will be a unified law on information issues, where several separate chapters will be devoted to media issues,” the foundation explained then.
However, then all work in this direction ceased. In 2021, rumors reappeared that the ministry, secretly from journalists, began to develop a new law.
And again Adil soz offered its help, but again to no avail.
And already this year, under pressure from the public, the ministry nevertheless decided to create a working group to develop the bill, which included both journalists and experts. True, the list of elected persons caused great criticism from those who were not included in this group under all sorts of plausible and not very plausible pretexts.
However, work has begun.
According to one of the members of the working group, journalist Yevgenia Bodrova, the ministry put forward a number of proposals for discussion. For example, it’s proposed to introduce the meaning of mass communication. This definition, as conceived by the developers, will be given not only to legal entities, but also to individuals who distribute information on online platforms. In addition, it’s proposed to legislate the meaning of blogger – a person who constantly disseminates information on online platforms.
As for the media, the ministry proposes to rename state media into national ones, and introduce the meaning of audiovisual service for streaming platforms such as Netflix, Megogo, kinopoisk, etc.
From what is really important, the following novelties can be noted: raising the status of a journalist; granting them (unlike bloggers) extended rights and privileges that don’t apply to bloggers; granting journalists the right to non-disclosure of the source of information; introducing the definition of journalistic investigation, on the basis of which law enforcement agencies will be able to initiate criminal cases; establishing a limitation period for the media within one year (there is no limitation period now); legislating legal guarantees for journalists working in hot spots or in dangerous conditions with the mandatory payment of compensation from the employer upon receipt harm to life and health; as well as introducing compulsory voluntary life insurance.
In addition, it’s also proposed: to abandon the state information order in favor of grant funding and subsidies; to create an ethics commission that will consider complaints about the activities of the mass media and the mass communication; to allow the media to advertise non-alcoholic beer (now it’s prohibited, as a result of which the media lose large advertising budgets); to publish annually the National Report on the Rights and Freedoms of Journalists and Media Workers; to oblige the media to disclose information about sources of funding and the ultimate beneficiary to financial monitoring authorities; and also to oblige audiovisual platforms to open representative offices in Kazakhstan and to prohibit the broadcasting of foreign television and radio channels that are not registered as a foreign mass media on the territory of Kazakhstan.
The reaction of journalists to the proposed changes is ambiguous. Some novelties are warmly welcomed; others, on the contrary, are severely criticized, as they are perceived as an attempt to increase control by government agencies.
In the meantime, the journalistic community is pondering what the new bill should be, Kazakh deputies are discussing amendments to the legislation on strengthening state regulation, control and supervision of the financial market and financial organizations and counteracting the activities of financial (investment) pyramids and amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses on countering activity of financial (investment) pyramids.
Among the amendments under discussion is a ban on advertising related to raising funds.
“The main goals of the bills proposed for consideration are the prompt response of deputies to the wide spread of fraudulent financial pyramids by eliminating the legal gaps in the current legislation, as well as toughening responsibility for the creation and advertising of financial and investment pyramids,” said MP Yuri Li, introducing the bill to his colleagues for discussion.
He also noted that if these amendments are adopted, Kazakhstani bloggers (caught advertising pyramid schemes) will face criminal liability in the form of a large fine or imprisonment for up to 7 years.
According to the deputy, today the situation is such that bloggers don’t bear any responsibility for what they advertise, including financial pyramids.
It should be noted that just recently another financial pyramid collapsed in Kazakhstan. That is Mudabarah Capital, which was actively advertised by well-known Kazakhstani bloggers and viners Meirzhan Turebaev and Meirkhan Sherniyazov. Later it turned out that bloggers not only advertised this pyramid, but were also part of its co-founders. The approximate damage caused by the collapsed financial pyramid to more than 250 of its investors amounted to more than $4.5 million.
