Kazakhstan MP Proposes Tougher Penalties for Harmful Livestreams
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A Kazakh lawmaker has proposed introducing a legal definition of "trash streaming" and tougher penalties for livestreams featuring violence, dangerous pranks, insults and deliberate provocations.
Kurultai deputy Zharkynbek Amantayuly made the proposal in a parliamentary inquiry addressed to Culture and Information Minister Arman Kyrykbayev and Interior Minister Yerzhan Sadenov.
According to the lawmaker, social media platforms have seen a growing number of livestreams featuring obscene language, insults and humiliation, as well as dangerous pranks and provocations.
Some content creators deliberately produce such material to attract views and likes, receive donations and generate advertising revenue.
"As a result, unlawful acts in some cases become a means of making money," the parliamentary inquiry said.
Amantayuly noted that the Interior Ministry had already brought a number of social media users to administrative liability for distributing unlawful content.
The inquiry also focused on protecting people who appear in livestreams without their consent. The lawmaker said stronger mechanisms were needed to protect their honour and dignity.
"We are not proposing restrictions on freedom of speech. On the contrary, we need to clearly define the boundary between freedom of speech and responsibility," Amantayuly said.
The lawmaker therefore proposed introducing a legal definition of "trash streaming" and tougher penalties for broadcasting violence, dangerous pranks, insults and deliberate provocations during livestreams.
He also proposed working with TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms to develop a mechanism for quickly identifying and blocking unlawful livestreams and establishing the identities of those behind them.
In addition, Amantayuly called for a unified state system to monitor unlawful content on social media and for the results of this work to be published regularly.
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