The parliamentary committee on budget, economic, and fiscal policy has approved the draft law on mass media with special considerations. The project was personally presented by the Minister of Culture, Altynbek Maksutov. He stated that in the second reading, the wishes of media experts and journalists will be taken into account, including the possible removal of the provision regarding media accreditation in all government agencies.
Deputy Kamila Talieva expressed dismay at the absence of the head of the legal support department of the president and the cabinet of ministers of the head of state's administration, as well as the head of the project's working group, Murat Ukushev, at the committee meeting.
Her colleague, Elvira Surabaldiyeva, was concerned about the section on media responsibility for disseminating information. She highlighted a recent incident where a news outlet published photos of girls from a closed brothel without blurring their faces. She warned that if this law passes, journalists could be held accountable while the police officers who provided the photos would go unpunished.
After lengthy discussions, the deputies accepted the concept of the draft law with special considerations. They intend to introduce their proposals in the second reading.
It is worth noting that the draft law developed by the president's administration was submitted to the Jogorku Kenesh in early January. This is the fifth version of the document, which was revised by members of the working group established by the decree of the head of state, Sadyr Japarov, in December 2022. However, the draft law was not finalized, not agreed upon, and not approved by all members of the working group. A detailed discussion of the articles was not conducted.
