Internet Hit by Media Law Change

Recent amendments to media regulations in Uzbekistan have tightened internet restrictions and led to increased self-censorship, according to NBCentralAsia commentators.



A revised version of a media law dating from 1991 came into force on January 15 after being passed by the lower house of parliament in summer last year and then approved by the upper house in November. Although government news agencies described it as a move to create freer media, external commentators disagree.



Shahida Yaqub, a journalist who represents the Uzbekistan Initiative-London group, explained that the amended law now defines websites as media outlets, which means they fall under legislation requiring all local and foreign media in Uzbekistan to register with the authorities and inform them of the names of the founder, chief editor, and staff members. They must also provide the authorities with copies of each publication.



Yaqub believes the law is designed to make life harder for independent and foreign media in Uzbekistan and give the state more control over the internet. She dismissed the new obligations placed on internet sites as “absurd”. “Who is going to regulate the blogs and websites which this new version of the law erroneously define as media outlets?” she asked.



Another journalist, Gulasal Kamalova, told NBCentralAsia that since the law came into force, internet providers in Uzbekistan have started blocking access to blogs that discuss any aspect of the country.



Kamalova believes that the law reinforces the practice of self-censorship, although censorship is not technically legal in Uzbekistan. “The new version of the law supposedly prohibits censorship, but in fact it shifts that task to the editor-in-chief and the founder, since the law makes them accountable for the objectivity and credibility of all published information,” she said.



The more positive aspects of the amended law, such as freedom of information, are unlikely to be upheld. An official can easily deflect journalists’ requests for information by citing official secrets legislation.



Reporter Tulkin Karaev says the media legislation needs to be seen in its political context - President Islam Karimov’s term in office has officially expired, and no arrangements have yet been announced for an election or for an extension of his term. “Given that there are still a few people left in Uzbekistan who might be able to disseminate information about what’s going on, the authorities want to obstruct the activities of independent journalists, opposition forces and human rights activists,” he said.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)