Uzkomnazorat restricts access to Telegram, Facebook, Instagram and other social networks

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- The State Inspectorate for Control in the Sphere of Informatization and Telecommunications (Uzkomnazorat) restricted access to the social networks Moy Mir, Odnoklassniki, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and the Telegram messenger.

Uzkomnazorat notes that these social networks and messengers violate the law on the storage and processing of personal data of Uzbek citizens. They store and process personal data of Uzbek citizens outside of Uzbekistan.

According to the register of Uzkomnazorat, the inspection sent instructions to social networks on 2 July. A re-order was sent on 2 November. On 3 November, the work of social networks and the messenger was limited.

In May 2021, Uzkomnazorat ordered the owners of social networks Mail.ru Group / VK (VKontakte), Twitter and Tencent (WeChat) to comply with the law on personal data. They had to place their servers, on which the personal data of citizens of Uzbekistan are processed, inside the country.

Later, Uzkomnazorat restricted access to social networks TikTok, Twitter, VKontakte, WeChat and the Skype messenger.

The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a law on amendments and additions to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Responsibility on 29 October.

The law has tightened the punishment for violating personal data legislation. The law will enter into force on 30 January 2022. After the changes come into force, social networks to which access is limited can be brought to administrative and criminal liability.