Intensive development of KazNet needs adequate control

Mr. Makhanbetazhiyev, on May 13 the Majilis approved the internet bill in the second reading. What is the reason of such urgent necessity to control the Kazakhstani internet space? It is important to understand that the bill is not called to control the internet space. This bill is supposed to regulate the internet resources. Its primary goal is to ensure and protect constitutional rights and freedom of citizens and legal entities in the sphere of internet communication. To elaborate this bill we have analyzed the world experience and international standards of the internet regulation in 27 countries. Eight years ago all websites, as per the legislation, were equaled to the mass media, as well as other kinds of internet resources, for instance blogs. Nowadays it is necessary to replace the notion of ?website? by the term ?internet resource?, for websites have gone beyond their classical interpretation and became more expanded by blogs, chats, forums, message boards, internet-shopping and other community tools. Statistics shows increased number of internet users in Kazakhstan which as of January 1, 2009 reached 14% of population, whereas in 2007 it was only 2.7%. - What measures can be taken in regard of those internet resources which contain information contradicting to the Constitution of Kazakhstan? - In the event that any illegal information infringing the interests of Kazakhstan is found in the internet, a certain notification will be provided for the Informatization and Communication Agency. The first step will be contacting the owner of the internet resource suggesting to cancel publication of such information. If no action follows, the issue will be resolved by the provider. If it appears to be beyond the provider?s competence, a certain competent authorized agency will address the problem. As per the Informatization Law of Kazakhstan, in the event that any information published in the internet is avowed as contradicting to the provisions of this Law and other legislative acts, the authorized agency, communication network operator and the owners of the internet resources shall either suspend or cancel publication of any mass media products on the territory of Kazakhstan. - Will the legal regulation of the internet space apply to the ?KZ? domains only? - No, we also consider that foreign websites can also be used for distribution of illegal information. If any anti-constitutional information is found to be published by foreign internet resources, we will try to contact the owner of such a website. However, frequently such attempts are unsuccessful. In this regard if this information proves to be illegal, the court shall decide to suspend or cancel dissemination of this information on the territory of Kazakhstan. Afterwards the judgment of the court will be executed by certain public organs. - How do you assess the nowadays condition and development of the Kazakhstan internet in the global web? - At present the number of registered domains is approximate to 20-30 thousand. There are about 5-6 thousand operating websites. I should note that our government is taking steps to develop the internet. The Decree of the Government as of April 17, 2008 approved the Concept of Formation and Development of the KazNet for 2008-2012. Today one can firmly state that the Kazakhstani internet is gathering pace. The increasing growth of internet users will bring tough competition among internet resources. However our objective is to develop Kazakhstani content.