Day: May 16, 2025

Kazakhstan is set to introduce administrative liability for disseminating illegal content on the internet, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Igor Lepekha announced during a recent session of the Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament.

Although Kazakhstan formally banned the publication of unlawful material online in 2023, as stipulated in national legislation, the law did not include penalties for violations. Lepekha confirmed that this gap will now be addressed through new administrative measures.

Kazakhstan has already established a system to detect illegal and false online content. “The Ministry of Culture sends us reports whenever false information is identified. We forward these materials for linguistic analysis, which is conducted by independent experts. If the content is found to constitute an offense, either administrative or criminal, a case is opened,” Lepekha explained. He added that all cases must be approved by the Prosecutor’s Office, with the courts ultimately determining culpability.

The upcoming penalties mirror efforts in neighboring Kyrgyzstan, where the Ministry of Culture recently proposed similar fines for spreading disinformation online.

Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Culture and Information (MKI) has reported a sharp rise in the volume of illegal content circulating online. In 2024, authorities identified 116,354 instances of unlawful material, nearly double the figure recorded in 2023. According to Minister Aida Balaeva, the most prevalent offenses include the promotion of terrorism, religious extremism, and drug use, as well as advertisements for online gambling and pyramid schemes.

Earlier this year, activists in Almaty and Kostanay were fined for holding solo protests in support of detained satirist Temirlan Ensebek. The incident has drawn criticism from civil society groups concerned about shrinking space for dissent.

Kazakhstan’s move to tighten internet regulations reflects growing regional and global trends aimed at combating harmful digital content. However, human rights organizations have warned that such measures must strike a careful balance to avoid infringing on freedom of expression.