Aida Balayeva: The amount of illegal content on Kaznet has doubled.
«I urge social media users not to take impulsive actions and to refrain from posting comments that, according to the letter of the law, could lead to the blocking of the information source — the online platform», — stated Aida Balayeva.
The head of the ministry declared that websites are rarely blocked in Kazakhstan. However, from 2023 to 2024, the amount of illegal content in Kaznet has nearly doubled. Most often, this involved posts promoting terrorism, extremism, drugs, as well as advertisements for online casinos and financial pyramids.
«Last year, 78,539 illegal materials were identified on online platforms, of which 24.3% were removed».
Ms. Balayeva did not clarify why less than a quarter of all illegal materials were successfully removed and what happened to the remaining illegal content.
The most recent high-profile case in which the Ministry of Culture responded to illegal content online was related to the controversially known track “Yo, orystar.” The ministry demanded the removal of the song from the internet, as its lyrics contain gross insults towards Russians and Uzbeks. More details about the origins of the controversial track, the reasons for its ban, and the penalties for those who post it have been thoroughly covered in a separate article.