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| Facebook denies allegations about its content reporting system |
Facebook's Meta has rejected claims by the Kazakh government that it has given it exclusive access to a social media reporting system.
In a joint statement with Facebook, Kazakhstan's Ministry of Information and Social Development used so-called exclusive access as a compromise after the Central Asian country threatened to block the social networks of millions of local users.
The Nur-Sultan government has announced that the deal will simplify the process of removing content that Kazakhstan considers illegal.
However, a company spokesperson said that the company provides dedicated online channels to governments around the world. This is about reporting content that you believe violates local laws.
"We have a consistent, global process in place to assess individual claims independently of government in accordance with Facebook guidelines, local laws, and international human rights standards," he added. The process in Kazakhstan is the same as in other countries of the world.
Meta issued a statement that Kazakhstan calls a joint statement. Although local news site Zakon.kz quoted Information Minister Aida Balyeva as saying that he insisted that the text had reached an agreement with the company.
In September, the oil-rich country's parliament began passing a bill that would allow the government to ban social media and messaging apps. Unless the developer opens an office in the state and appoints a general manager who is personally responsible for investigating complaints from the authorities.
One of the bill's authors, Congressman Aydos Sarim, said on his Facebook page that the bill paves the way for negotiations with tech giants and that the authorities are now ready to amend its rules.
Kazakhstan can use the content reporting system
Critics of the bill accused the country's 19 million residents of searching for new controls. Although the authors of the bill said it was aimed at preventing the spread of cyberbullying and other dangerous content.
The government said Kazakhstan has at least 3.2 million Facebook users. Other meta platform apps like Instagram and WhatsApp are more popular.
For a long time, the company was criticized by human rights organizations for excessive compliance with the requirements of state supervision. The service has essentially avoided shutting down outside of countries like China where it has long been banned. But this year it is under pressure in a number of countries, including India, Vietnam and Myanmar.