0
Kazakh police recently announced a large-scale crackdown on profanity, lewd behavior, and dangerous pranks on social media. / Getty Images Bank

As the Kazakh government makes maintaining public order a core policy priority, it is now expanding its crackdown — carried out alongside judicial authorities — into the online space.

The government has significantly tightened enforcement in recent years against smoking and drinking in public, traffic violations, domestic violence, and property damage. It has recently decided to apply the same principles to the digital space as well, and is now expanding online monitoring in earnest.

According to Kazakh outlet Tengrinews and other media on the 2nd, a local court recently fined a woman living in Aktau 86,500 tenge (about 240,000 won) over a TikTok video containing profanity.

The court found her guilty of minor disorderly conduct under the country's administrative violations law, citing a video she posted while responding to a follower's comment in which she exposed part of her body and used obscene language.

Police also placed a 22-year-old man living in Almaty under five days of administrative detention over videos containing profanity he posted on TikTok and Instagram.

Police said they are carrying out a large-scale crackdown on users posting profanity, lewd behavior, and dangerous pranks, adding that a total of nine people have received administrative penalties as of recently.

The Interior Ministry said on the 28th of last month that social media is a public space accessible to anyone, and that existing laws apply equally online, adding that hiding behind an anonymous account does not exempt users from accountability.

It also warned that it would hold accountable anyone producing content that exceeds acceptable limits in pursuit of likes, views, or donations, saying it would continue its crackdown, including publicizing the real names of violators.

As enforcement has gradually intensified, a string of cases involving simple profanity have also drawn punishment recently, raising concerns that the government may be seeking to control freedom of expression online.

Within Kazakhstan's legal community and civil society, while there is broad agreement on the need to maintain public order, voices are calling for social debate over how far restrictions on freedom of expression should go.

Experts advise that while accountability is needed in the digital space too, striking the right balance between maintaining order and protecting individuals' freedom of expression is a new challenge facing Kazakh society.

                                                                                                              Kim Min-gyu