OSCE representatives: Limiting Internet resembles burning down books

State officials met at a round-table discussion dedicated to the problems of ByNet on Monday. The meeting was organized by the OSCE representative office in Minsk and the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunya Miyatovich in particular. Starting a discussion about the problems and prospects of development of ByNet, she drew attention to the danger of limiting the freedom of speech implied by presidential decree #60 “On Internet Regulation”.

Miyatovich: "I expect and hope that the legislation concerning this field will be changed in a certain way. It is necessary to simplify the serious and complicating effect produced by the legislation of the rights of citizens to express their opinion online. Especially before the elections of the Belarusian President appointed for December 19”.



In Dunya Miyatovich’s opinion, limiting the Internet resembles burning down books.

The official side of the round-table discussion was represented by the Ministry of Information, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and employees of the President’s Operative Analytical Centre.



Providers, journalists, representatives of the Belarusian Association of Journalists, OSCE and a guest from Moscow – the director of the Media Law and Policy Centre Andrei Richter - sat opposite the officials. He reminded that Belarus had committed itself to sticking to the documents concerning the freedom of speech adopted by the United Nations Organization and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Andrei Richter: “The OSCE Charter for European Security adopted with an active participation of Belarus in 1999 says: “We confirm the importance of independent mass media and free information flows as well as the society’s access to information. We oblige to create conditions necessary for the functioning of independent mass media and free information flows as well as unimpeded transborder and domestic information flows”.



In his opinion, the law adopted in Belarus and a number of decrees are aimed at limiting the freedom of speech. The professor mentioned that Internet users had to show their IDs in cafes and clubs, the illegality of anonymous information access and distribution, the registration of domains in the .BY segment, the supply of remote access services for investigation operations and many other things. There is also a decree according to which state institutions will be deprived of the access to websites “containing harmful and unlawful information”.
Andrei Richter: “The problem of the norm is the fact that the notion of dangerous and unlawful information in the Belarusian legislation is presented in a way allowing a legal vagueness of categories. They are not presented as clear notions and do not allow citizens to regulate their behaviour foreseeing the consequences of this or that situation”.

In the Russian specialist’s opinion, Belarusian laws in the field of the Internet have many drawbacks and limit the freedom of opinion and mass media.

The analysis offended a representative of the President’s Operative Analytical Centre Syarhei Krautsou who responded to the Russian specialist in the “look at yourself” way. 

Syarhei Krautsou: "Discussions about cyber safety and limiting the right for privacy have been going on since the Internet was created. However, I would like to note that journalists do not get killed in Belarus unlike it happens in some neighbouring states. That is why I think the measures taken in Belarus to make the Internet open are right!”




Then he admitted that the state was really trying to regulate the world wide web. However, it was not the whole Internet but only its segment - ByNet. He said that everything that was being done for it with the help of law and decrees was good for the segment and for the freedom of speech in general. Those who are against such a positive development of ByNet will have to answer in law. Krautsou admitted that a bill on administrative responsibility for violating decree #60 has been elaborated. For example, it will be the responsibility for networks, systems and resources situated abroad when services are rendered to Belarusian citizens.
The deputy head of the IT criminal investigation department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ihar Parmon reproached providers and journalists with hiding and not taking part in the elaboration of the Internet legislation.

Іhar Parmon: “We have needed the efforts of the Council of Europe to gather here and express our opinions. There are press representatives taking notes. In my opinion, they had to gather us earlier or to ask us questions individually. The press is not interested in the topic much”.

The statement made the director of “Trustworthy Programmes” Yury Ziser criticise the way laws were adopted in our country.

Yury Ziser: “Many things are not even explained. They adopt some document at first and then it just falls from the sky, it is not clear from where. And you start thinking what every paragraph means and you get explanations only a few months alter. All the innovations are introduced by decrees, orders and laws instead of bills”.

The discussion lasted for a long time. For example, officials from the Ministry of Communications asked why it was necessary to scare people with the possibility of creation of a black list of websites to leave it empty in the end. It turned out everyone had to fill it in on their own. And so on.
In the opinion of the deputy chairperson of the Belarusian Association of Journalists Anrdei Bastunets, it is good that the meeting took place but there will be no results.

Anrdei Bastunets: “I don’t believe we can say that the round-table discussion will lead to the state consulting representatives of the civil or business community in this field”.

According to him, officials said a lot about the struggle with cyber crimes but did not mention issues of the freedom of speech, the freedom of mass media and the citizens’ right for information.

Photo by: Zmitser Lukashuk