Skip to main content

Eurasianet

Main Menu

  • Regions
  • Topics
  • Media
  • About
  • Search
  • Newsletter
  • русский
  • Support us
X

Caucasus

Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia

Central Asia

Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan

Conflict Zones

Abkhazia
Nagorno Karabakh
South Ossetia
Transnistria

Eastern Europe

Belarus
Moldova
Russia
The Baltics
Ukraine

Eurasian Fringe

Afghanistan
China
EU
Iran
Mongolia
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
X

Arts and Culture

Economy

Politics

Security

Society

Coronavirus
X

Visual Stories

Audio
Interactive
Video

Blogs

Tamada Tales
The Bug Pit

Podcasts

Expert Opinions
The Central Asianist
X
You can search using keywords to narrow down the list.

Uzbekistan Tightens Control over Mobile Internet

Murat Sadykov Mar 15, 2011

Authoritarian Uzbekistan is notorious for its tight grip on the media. But it's probably safe to assume that Tashkent knows what's been going on in northern Africa in recent months. Perhaps this is why the government is patching up a hole in its spotty control over access to information: mobile phone technology that allows users to view blocked Internet sites on cell phones and quickly distribute information via text message.Russia’s RBC Daily reports that Uzbek regulators have demanded mobile operators notify the government about mass distributions of SMS messages with “suspicious content.” A source at the Uzbek Agency for Communications and Information, which regulates the wireless market, told RBC Daily that mobile operators would also have to switch their Internet networks off whenever authorities wish. Already, Uzbek customers can only open a mobile account in the town where they are registered to live.“In addition, operators controlling access to the Internet have been asked to watch activity on social networks and on the Internet in general,” a source at an Uzbek telecom operator told RBC Daily.That may sound like business as usual. But until now, Internet users surfing the Web through their mobile phone browsers have been able to access otherwise blocked sites unimpeded. The press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders has identified Uzbekistan as one of the world’s top 10 “Internet Enemies.” News websites like ferghana.ru, uznews.net, the BBC’s Uzbek service, and RFE/RL's Uzbek service, are blocked. Social media sites like LiveJournal – a blogging platform – MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Blogger and Flickr are accessible from time to time, but are easier to open on mobile phone browsers (as they were in Turkmenistan before the government booted out MTS, a Russian mobile services provider, in December). Smartphones are taking over markets throughout Central Asia. But Tashkent is probably not eager to see how quickly its young, tech-savvy generation adopts the same mobile technology popular in Cairo and Tunis. 

Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.

Popular

Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan agreement advances Caspian gas cooperation
David O'Byrne
Turkmenistan: Big on gas, short on options
Chris Rickleton
China’s trade data confirm 2020 was a bleak year in Eurasia

Eurasianet

  • About
  • Team
  • Contribute
  • Republishing
  • Privacy Policy
  • Corrections
  • Contact
Eurasianet © 2021