New Constitution: Editors' Club sets Kazakhstan’s media path
Kazakhstan's media leaders and members of Parliament met in Astana to discuss ongoing Constitutional Reform, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The Kazakhstan National Academic Library hosted a roundtable titled 'Constitutional Reform 2026: Freedom of Speech, Information Accountability, and Personal Data Protection,' organized by the Chief Editors’ Club of Kazakhstan public association. The event brought together members of the Editors’ Club, heads of leading media outlets, industry experts, and journalism veterans.
Constitutional balance between rights and responsibility
The roundtable was moderated by Bibigul Zhexenbay, a Deputy of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Chairperson of the mentioned club.
"Freedom of speech is one of the key values of a democratic state. In the new Constitution, it must be clearly guaranteed alongside freedom of the media. However, the balance between free expression, the protection of citizens' honor and dignity, and personal data security must be explicitly defined at the constitutional level. Accountability must be legal, fair, and balanced, ensuring it does not impede investigative journalism or public criticism," noted Bibigul Zhexenbay.
The roundtable centered on the primary areas of the 2026 constitutional reform, the modern definition of freedom of expression, accountability for the dissemination of information, as well as issues concerning personal data protection, defamation, and the preservation of honor and dignity. Attendees emphasized the necessity of safeguarding human rights and freedoms while creating legal responses to the emerging challenges of the digital space.
Several key figures led the discussion, including Majilis Deputy Marat Bashimov and the heads of the nation's major media companies: Yernur Burakhan (Qazaqstan National TV & Radio Corporation), Kemelbek Oishibayev (Khabar Agency), and Aina Zadabek (Qazcontent). The group engaged in a focused exchange on pressing issues within the current media landscape.
Besides, journalists and media executives from Almaty City, as well as the Almaty, North Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda, South Kazakhstan, and Atyrau regions, joined the discussions online, sharing their insights and proposals regarding the draft of the new Constitution.
It was noted that freedom of speech is one of the key values of a democratic society. At the same time, participants emphasized the need to maintain a legal balance between accountability for the dissemination of information, the prevention of the spread of false information, and the protection of citizens' honor and dignity, as well as their personal data.
Roundtable resolution
The event concluded with the adoption of a resolution of the roundtable. The document systematizes the media community’s positions on constitutional reform. It stresses the need for firmly enshrining within the Constitution: freedom of speech, freedom of the media, and the right to access and disseminate information.
The resolution specifies that the legal balance between freedom of speech and accountability for the dissemination of information, including the protection of citizens' honor, dignity, business reputation, and personal data, must be clearly defined at the constitutional level. The participants totally agreed that the norms of liability for the dissemination of false information and libel must be fair, clear, and balanced, ensuring they do not impede investigative journalism or socially significant criticism.
Furthermore, the resolution recognizes the protection of personal data, the right to privacy, and the preservation of human dignity as key constitutional values of the present-day information and digital society. In this regard, it was proposed to refine the relevant provisions in line with international standards and global best practices.
The document highlights the media's role in strengthening the society's legal culture through professional, balanced, and responsible coverage of the constitutional reform. The journalistic community expressed its commitment to further public and expert discussions regarding the draft of the new Constitution.
The adopted resolution reflects the unified stance of the Kazakhstan Chief Editors’ Club roundtable held on February 9, 2026. The document will be submitted to authorized state bodies and relevant stakeholders as a formal recommendation.
As Qazinform News Agency reported earlier, Kazakhstan is to enshrine volunteer activity in the Constitution.
