The TikTok application has no longer worked since Thursday in Kyrgyzstan. Security services justified it by the need to protect the health of children.
The government claims to act for the protection of minors. But voices are being raised, including that of Reporter dans frontières, against an attempt to restrict the right to information. The blocking of TikTok comes as the Kyrgyz authorities have been accused in recent months of wanting to strengthen their control over civil society. In August, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture had already threatened to ban TikTok, claiming to have received requests from NGOs concerned about its harmful effects on children. The social network, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, did not respect an article of law on child protection, the government said. The decision to block TikTok was made at the request of the security services of this Central Asian country, according to a press release by the Ministry of Digital. It is not known who is responsible for the decision.