By Alishba I. Kassim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

ALMATY, Kazakhstan – Kazakhstan’s parliament has approved a law tightening government control of the internet. The new bill will subject chat rooms, blogs, and other social networking sites to potential criminal prosecution.

Media activists in Kazakhstan have been opposing the law and say it will vastly limit freedom of speech, and is designed to allow arbitrary crackdowns on anyone opposing Nursultan Kazarbayev, Kazakhstan’s president.

Kazakh authorities have denied the media’s allegations, and instead maintain that the new law is aimed to curb the distribution of child pornography, extremist literature, and other “unsuitable” material. “The law is not a regulation of the internet. The amendments introduced to the law are aimed at stopping the dissemination of illegal information on the internet,” the government’s state information agency said.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Europe’s main human rights and security agency, has criticized the bill. Miklos Harszti, a representative on media freedom, said the law “limits the freedom of the internet and media freedom in general. Its adoption would be a step backwards in the democratization of Kazakhstan’s media governance.”

He further said that Kazakhstan is due to take over chairmanship of the OSCE in six months and “refusing to enact this law will send a strong signal that the forthcoming OSCE chairmanship of Kazakhstan in 2010 intends to fully honor the country’s OSCE media freedom commitments.”

Several leaders from Kazakhstan’s political opposition as well as the media community have started to stage small protests in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city.

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Kazakhstan to Tighten Internet Law – June 26, 2009

Daily Times – Kazakhstan Adopts Tough Internet Law – June 25, 2009

Radio Liberty – Kazakhstan Adopts Controversial Internet Law – June 25, 2009