Online safety & content laws in Kyrgyzstan (2026)

The Law on Protection from False Information (signed August 2021) empowers the Ministry of Culture to demand social media platforms remove flagged content within 24 hours and block non-compliant platforms; it also requires service providers to maintain a real-name registry of users. It has been used to block RFE/RL's Kyrgyz-language sites.

A 2023 law on protecting children from harmful information was used by the GKNB in April 2024 to order ISPs and mobile operators to block TikTok entirely. Critics, including IFEX, described the law as a broad censorship tool dressed as child-safety regulation.

A presidential decree effective 15 August 2025 imposed a one-year state monopoly on international internet traffic, transferring all ISPs' international connectivity agreements to the nationalized operator ElCat. The Association of Telecom Operators warned the move violates the Constitution and Competition Law.

A new Mass Media Law adopted by parliament in June 2025 requires all websites to register as mass media outlets; foreigners and companies with more than 35% foreign ownership are barred from founding media. The UN Special Rapporteur and Article 19 expressed concern that universal registration enables state control over all online publishing.

The Digital Code adopted by parliament on 18 June 2025 (entering force six months later) consolidates rules on personal data protection, digital services, telecommunications, and AI into a single instrument, and codifies platform-owner responsibilities and state oversight of the digital environment.

Amendments in February 2025 re-criminalized online libel and insult (fines up to 65,000 som for organizations). Additional July 2025 amendments to the Code of Offenses imposed administrative fines for spreading 'false or unreliable' information via the internet or mass media. Independent outlets Kloop and Temirov Live were branded 'extremist' and Aprel TV was ordered closed by a court in July 2025.