Threat to internet still remains

The draft law “On information, informatization and information security” will receive different name, and it is most likely not to cover the Internet. These proposals were discussed at the last session of the “deputy” group that is working up the document.

“It doesn’t mean, it will be so, but the question has been raised”, head of the group Tatsiana Safronenka said to press service of the Belarusian Association of Journalists. According to the “deputy”, the draft law is being actively worked up and narrowed. T. Safronenka noted, the “deputies” were listening to the advices of BAJ experts who are presenting at the sessions of the working group.

At the same time, Mikhail Pastuhou, Head of the Media Legal Defense Center at BAJ is not very optimistic with this issue.

“The draft law is actually narrowed, the process of its smoothing is going on. But the sense of the document will remain the same – the main sections about information, work with information and information security remain without changes”, M. Pastuhou remarked in the talk with the BAJ press service.

He considers a part of the document about the information security to be its most dangerous section. “I think the main idea of the bill was to provide the wide system of ways to “defend” information, in other words – to restrict the free information. According to the document, the access won’t be restricted only for nice-to-know information. More and more new bans for spreading and using information are put in, it begins to aware”, the lawyer of BAJ noted.

According to him, it is early to say the deputies will leave the internet in peace. “The registration of the state information resources wasn’t organized occasionally. The significant part of these resources will be placed on the Internet”, - Mikhail Pastuhou emphasized.

The lawyer has admitted the number of the BAJ’s proposals was taken into consideration by the working group, but they didn’t concern the significant changes.

“We haven’t changed our principal position – such version of the draft law is violating the constitutional right of the citizens for access, keeping and spreading information. We should deny this document at all. I have said this position several times to the working group responsible for the revision of the bill, but it was rejected”, M. Pastuhou.

It should be reminded that the draft law “On information, informatization and information security” is to be adopted on the autumn session of the “house of representatives”, but the date is still unknown.