"Spiritual Expertise": Does the government of Uzbekistan want to control the social network?

Now in Uzbekistan, media products that contradict the state policy and moral and ethical criteria are subjected to "spiritual expertise". The parts of the media product that the expert group did not like will be "cut".

Most creators interpret the spiritual expert group to be formed as the official return of censorship.

Otabek Hasanov, director of the Center for Spirituality and Enlightenment of Uzbekistan, announced on his Telegram channel that media products will undergo a "spiritual examination" to prevent the promotion of immorality.

It was said that this procedure was agreed upon by the joint decision of the Republican Spirituality and Enlightenment Center, AOKA under the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Culture, the Cinematography Agency and the National Media Association of the National Television and Radio Company of Uzbekistan.

"In today's turbulent times, the scope and flow of information is wide. Mediamakon is filled with various media products on modern, interesting and current topics. However, not all of them can be said to be of high educational value in terms of quality and content. That is why it is very important to prevent the spread of media products that undermine the education of young people and our national mentality, and to analyze the level of their purity and compatibility with our national morality," the report says.

According to the promotional video, by now the charter on conducting traditional expertise has been approved and the main tasks of the group have been defined.

"In particular, media products developed in Uzbekistan and abroad by a group of experts in the field and shown on the territory of Uzbekistan contradict the state policy, state symbols, national and universal values, spiritual and moral criteria, and promote immorality and obscenity that threaten human qualities and exist. it will be studied whether it is not", the message says.

It is added that a proposal will be made to relevant agencies to stop the display of media products that contradict these criteria.

"Measures will be taken to prevent the spread of media products that undermine the education of young people and our national mentality. Proposals will be submitted to relevant ministries, departments and organizations to stop the showing of such media products," said the official message.

Tired of press and television censorship and restriction of freedom of speech, social network users asked in their comments: "Now will state control be established in the Uzbek segment of the social network?" are writing unanswered questions.

Some Internet publications indicated in their reports that "Spiritual Expertise" is a new type of censorship.

After these objections, the director of the Spirituality and Enlightenment Center, Otabek Hasanov, gave an official response.

He emphasized that this project is being implemented based on requests, requests and initiatives of parents, intellectuals, as well as the general public, who are concerned about the influence of media content on young people, especially children of preschool and school age.

The "Spiritual Expertise" project does not censor media products. The activities of the experts will consist of developing recommendations for media content developers, creative groups and artistic councils," the report says.

According to him, the center does not affect the freedom of creativity of mass media, journalists, creators, and bloggers.

Abdurahman Tashanov, chairman of the "Ezgulik" human rights society, asked, "Does the Center of Spirituality think that others are stupid?" he reacted sharply.

He drew attention to the fact that the main tasks of the spiritual expertise group are defined in the approved charter.

"According to the regulation, a group of experts examines and permits the violation of state policy, national values, moral and ethical standards of local and foreign media products shown in the territory of Uzbekistan.

It doesn't take a great deal of intelligence to know that this is red-hot censorship, and that the law also includes liability for abuse of freedom of speech, trespass and crime. Look at this, now the center has issued a statement saying that we do not want to interfere with freedom of speech, don't get it wrong.

So, what can be understood if someone says "if I see it, you can publish it" despite the fact that there are enough laws in the field? Can the Spiritual Center explain what laws, Constitutions and international norms comply with its actions? Shall I die when he tells me not to panic again? said Abdurahman Tashanov.

On the one hand, it is not surprising that those who call this initiative not a single initiative on freedom of creativity and opinion, but a part of complex measures, take into account that the level of freedom of speech in Uzbekistan is getting worse every year. In addition, in many cases, the laws and procedures adopted with "high spirit and incomparable definitions" serve not to solve problems, but to create new obstacles for citizens.

Another aspect is that Russian TV channels and propaganda channels on social networks are actively involved in spreading immorality and foreign disinformation in our country. Is there a fight against them in the activity of the center?

"We have to fight against ignorance with enlightenment," we often say. In order to eliminate the mentioned problems, it is necessary not to close, destroy, limit or punish the existing content in Uzbekistan, but to increase alternative projects, which correspond to national values, and to support quality content. Because if we imagine the Internet as a sea, as soon as we build a dam on one side of it, information will continue to flow from another place.

What do you think: is the censorship of the "old days" returning through the new regime, or is the fight against immoral activities beginning?