The International Fund for the Defense of Freedom of Expression “Adil Soz” appealed to the Minister of Information and Public Consent of Kazakhstan, Aida Balaeva, with a request to use all the powers given to her to immediately restore the work of the blocked HOLA News website.
Recall, as ACCA has already reported, the Internet edition of HOLA News was blocked after being subjected to a DPI attack (Deep Packet Inspection).
“The technical specialists involved in analyzing the problem told us the following:“ The inaccessibility of the holanews.kz resource is caused by the blocking of the 443-port of the IP address at the provider level. Using DPI technology. Confirmation of this is that open DPI bypass tools allow you to connect to the site ”(proof is at the disposal of the editors). Similar blocks were used in neighboring Russia to restrict access to content, information about this and the details of this type of restriction to content is easy to find in the public domain upon request. The technology allows you to analyze the content of information transmitted between users and sites and restrict access to it, ”HOLA News commented in this regard.
Kazakh journalists and the public have expressed active support for the blocked site. Meanwhile, the international fund for the protection of freedom of speech “Adil soz” appealed to the Minister of Information and Public Accord of Kazakhstan Aida Balaeva with a request to immediately restore access to the website.
“You have repeatedly stated that the ministry you are heading is ready to protect journalists and the media,” the Foundation’s appeal says. – Now there is such an emergency that requires your intervention and protection. For some unknown reason, the popular online publication HOLA News has been blocked. We ask you to use all the powers given to you to immediately investigate this egregious incident, restore the smooth operation of HOLA News, and inform the public about the reasons for this violation of the constitutional norms of freedom of speech. ”
In an interview with ACCA, the editor-in-chief of the online edition HOLA News Zarina Akhmatova said that the resource was still blocked.
– Zarina, did you manage to find out what exactly caused the blocking? Was it a technical failure or someone’s ill will?
– On our side, there was no failure, no work was carried out on the site, we did not transfer it, we did not fix it. Moreover, when we and our readers lost access to the site, we didn’t make any statements for two days, because we were trying to find out exactly what the matter was. The editors joke that we were the first to doubt the blocking. Therefore, we asked third-party specialists to conduct a conditional technical audit. They all concluded that these are external restrictions. We were shown that deep packet inspection technology is used – inspection and filtering of network packets. With the help of this technology, access to Internet resources is restricted in some countries. There are many discussions on this topic, the most important of which is that such a method of restriction violates a person’s right to access information. Plus, as it turned out, it’s quite expensive. There was a hope that this was a failure or a mistake, perhaps even from those who could carry out such a blocking, but on the fourth day, it had already gone.
– Do you have any idea who needed it? To whom could Hola cross the path?
– This question is always room for speculation. Officially, no one told us anything, moreover, yesterday the Ministry of Information and Social Development (MISR), in response to a request from colleagues from Informburo, reported that they understand the reasons for blocking, consider it wrong to restrict the activities of journalists and, in general, for all good and against all bad. There was also the wording: “According to preliminary information, no action was taken by the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry to prevent access to the resource.” Now, apparently, a response should come from the above-mentioned Ministry. Thus, it turns out that no one seems to be blocking the site, but it is blocked without trial and investigation for reasons we do not understand. Therefore, all the guesses about who we crossed the pass to are a subject of fantasy. Yes, we adhere to an independent editorial policy: we ourselves decide what information to publish. The criterion for its selection is quite simple – it must be socially important. This is such an international standard. The basics of the profession. On our website, in the same way, appear officials, reports from rallies, news about the explosions in Taraz, where our group immediately leaves, an investigation into the Obukhovsky ore mining and processing plant, or a rewrite of materials from an international consortium of journalists. At the same time, we have always tried to comply with the rules for submitting materials: verification of fact, objectivity, reliability, provision of a platform to all parties involved in the conflict, compliance with legislation. It’s hard to call us rabid. But perhaps it’s the fact that we play by the rules that makes us nervous. Plus, we are selective in our ad content. We do not have government money, we do not take all materials for placement, and those that we take must be marked as sponsored content. This has deprived us of a large number of potential contracts, but it gives confidence to our readers that they will not read veiled advertisements, leaks, or orders. I have been working for HOLA News since September last year and I can say that during this year not a single advertising material was released on the site without a corresponding disclaimer.
– How do you assess the support of the journalistic community in the situation that Hola faced? Has anything concrete been done beyond words of sympathy on social media and short notes on their resources?
– In the day that has passed since our statement about blocking the site, colleagues from 15-20 media outlets contacted me, they wrote about our problem, including large information sites. In fact, this is the largest support we could have received from the media community yesterday. We did not expect such cooperation, but it is very valuable and pleasant to us. In a situation where you are simply silently blocked and you find yourself in a blind spot, it is very important that other market participants highlight this problem. As you know, this does not always happen in our competitive environment. The journalists got a short, but official response from the MISR, helped with the comments of lawyers and human rights activists, the rest provided a platform, for which I am immensely grateful to them, including your publication. We’ve also received a lot of support from our readers, starting from social media posts to asking how they can help us. Yesterday, one of my colleagues wrote that the attempt to block us had the opposite effect. Perhaps that is what happened.
– Have you made an official request about the blockage of the website to the authorized bodies, Adil soz turned to Balayeva with his request regarding the situation around you. Is there already some kind of reaction, some answers, or at least ghostly promises that they will figure it out?
– There is a response from the MISR to colleagues that “the Ministry has sent a corresponding request to the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry to find out the reasons.” We are waiting for what they will find out. But let’s be honest, the relevant ministry is aware of the problem with the lack of access to the site. If they wanted to say something about this, they had and still have such an opportunity. After all, they are needed not only to talk on glamorous platforms that freedom of speech is flourishing in our country and to distribute government orders. Everyone wrote about the blocking – from pop singers on Instagram to information resources. We are now thinking about our further strategy. It is important for us to preserve the audience, advertisers, and the work of the site, so we will ask for an investigation if the blocking is not removed.
– You have been in journalism for a long time. How would you assess the level of freedom of speech now, and in comparison, say, with some recent period – for example, before a pandemic or before the adoption of the concept of a hearing state?
– I would compare it with other periods, for example, compared to what it was 5 years ago, it seems that it is as if it is easier to breathe, the window has been slightly opened. The Internet is developing, social networks have long been full-fledged players in the media market, new faces and new brands have appeared. But still, at any time you can easily receive a call with a request to remove this or that material with the proven wording “well, you understand,” or come to work and understand that the website is simply not accessible. And for four days everyone pretends that nothing happened. If we take into account the “Abaev scale” (Dauren Abaev is the ex-minister of information and communications), who rated freedom of speech in the country on a 10-point scale by 7-8 points in 2018 and said that we have something to strive for, then today I would say that we were aiming a little in the wrong direction.
– You are one of the few (you can count on fingers) journalists who, it seems to me, cannot imagine herself outside the profession and is in it, probably around the clock. Tell me, have you ever had a desire to leave everything here and go to a place where you will have the opportunity to do what you love without any fear for tomorrow?
– I, like all my colleagues, from time to time, imagine myself outside the profession. Sometimes I even change my trajectory a little: I go to research, to international organizations (although there was also a connection to the media sphere), to consulting, I reinvent myself in formats and roles within the profession. I am interested in trying new forms and new models of media construction. I don’t want to do the same thing all the time, and journalism is just an opportunity to live 100 lives, avoiding routine. I dare to hope that I am able to do something in the profession and understand our sphere. From time to time, of course, I think about changing it, because adhering to the principles (and they are important to us) becomes more expensive in every sense. Periodically, like many of my colleagues, I am subject to self-examination and reflection. I, like our Ministry of Information, also have something to strive for. But I didn’t think about leaving. Get an education and new experience – yes, to leave – no. I have a friend who likes to say, “Let them leave.” I do not promise, I just never thought about emigration.
– What lesson can other media learn from the Hola situation? And what advice or suggestions would you give them if they faced the same?
– I do not yet know how to learn from what happened. If this is an educational process, then we are one of those naughty ones who do not tolerate a show flogging and rebel. In general, I am pleased to think that the reputation helped us, for which we all worked hard. We didn’t shout without checking, we tried to honestly and accurately do our job, we always refused the hype, because, in the end, reputation is all that a journalist has. Therefore, colleagues and readers understand that since we have just said this publicly, something is really happening. I don’t feel the right to mentor and the desire to give advice, but I will say that honest work, drive, consistency, and integrity work not only for your audience but also for you.
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