Your trusted source

Azerbaijani leaders are at the planning stage of introducing tighter internet surveillance to allow them to identify who is using the web, in particular social media, reads the article on IWPR site.

According to the article, plans for new regulations were flagged up by Ramiz Mehdiyev, head of President Ilham Aliyev’s office, at an August 29 meeting with media chiefs.

In his statement Mehdiyev pointed to the upsurge of tensions on the border with Nagorny Karabakh at the beginning of August and highlighted the need to crack down on “unprofessional and illegal” reporting.

In its turn Siyavush Novruzov, a member of the parliamentary committee on defence and security from the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party, focused on comments that were offensive rather than security threats. “There is so much insulting and abusive language on websites today. And all of it is written under pseudonyms,” he said.

The solution, Novruzov, said, was to require users to register on social media and other websites under their real names.
Lawyer Jabir Aliyev told IWPR that restrictions of this kind went against the principles of freedom expression. According to him, the opportunity to express their opinions anonymously is an integral part of freedom of speech.

According to the article web users point out that it is impractical for governments to try to mould global technologies to their own needs. Social media sites set their own rules for their users, and are unlikely to modify them to suit the separate arrangements the Azerbaijani government wants.

Javid Aga, who is active on many different social media platforms said, “I think that when Siyavush Novruzov speaks of internet filtering and the experience of other countries, he’s thinking of places like China, North Korea, Iran and Turkey. The governments in those countries have total control over the individual’s private life in the virtual sphere. There’s no respect for confidentiality.”

Lawyer Aliyev said state attempts to regulate the web were a form of censorship, and were unlikely to work anyway. “People will always violate bans,” he said, adding that the only realistic method was to create “a complete intranet” within the country concerned.
“Not even China has managed to do that, because the internet doesn’t just consist of Facebook and Twitter – the entire banking system and business depends on it,” Aliyev continued.

The article also notes that a number of website administrators and bloggers in Azerbaijan are in jail for their activities, including Abdul Abilov, who ran a website called “Let’s Say Stop to Toadies”, Omar Mammadli, who created a satirical site called “Snippets from Azerbaijani TV, Faraj Karimov, whose site was called “Resign”, and many more like Jamil Hasanli, Elsever Mursalli, Rashad Ramazanov, Orkhan Eyyubzade, Ilkin Rustamzade, and Mammad Azizov, etc.