Draft document: Bloggers and the mass media will be responsible for the comments of users

Perhaps soon bloggers, websites and the mass media will be responsible for user comments that are against the law.

A draft government decree on amendments and addenda to the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers “On measures to improve information security on the Internet” has been published on the portal for discussing draft normative-legal acts.

The draft resolution was developed by the Agency for Information and Mass Communications (AIMC) in order to protect the interests of individuals and society in the information space, the systematic organization of the removal of comments of an illegal nature.

According to article 12-1 of the Law “On informatization”, the mass media, including bloggers, must not allow the use of their resources to carry out actions that entail criminal and other liability in accordance with the law, and must immediately delete the posted information in the case of recognition of its illegality or inaccuracy.

At the suggestion of AIMC, websites, messenger owners and bloggers will have to remove comments containing the following information:

- calls for an unconstitutional overthrow of power;

- dissemination of the ideas of religious extremism, separatism and fundamentalism;

- incitement of interethnic, interracial, or religious hatred, as well as causing moral damage to citizens, and damage to the business reputation of entities, after receiving appropriate notice from the Agency.

Media representatives must remove comments of an illegal nature within 24 hours from the receipt of the relevant notice from the Agency, and inform the AIMC about the measures taken.

“In our practice, there are many cases when the owners of websites and instant messengers, including bloggers, do not pay due attention to the issues of moderation of user comments, among which there are often statements that contradict the laws of Uzbekistan. Thus, knowing or unknowingly, the owners of websites and instant messengers, including bloggers, violate the requirements of article 12-1 of the Law “On informatization” and become potential candidates for inclusion in the Register,” the Agency noted.

If media representatives, including a blogger, do not fulfill the obligations established by law, access to these resources may be restricted by a specially authorized body in the manner established by the Cabinet of Ministers.