Kazakh Websites Protesting New Internet Law With Strike

Several leading Kazakh websites are suspending their operations today to protest a new Internet law recently adopted by parliament, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

The strike action will take place between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. (local time).

Supporters of the action will boycott the ".kz" domain for the full hour while owners of online resources in Kazakhstan will show an empty webpage with the strike action's logo on it.

Sofia Lapina of the Almaty-based NGO Adil Soz (A Just Word), which monitors media rights, told RFE/RL that some Internet users in Russia will support the action by participating as well.

On April 29, the Kazakh parliament adopted the new law, which recognizes the Internet -- including chat rooms, blogs, and public forums -- as mass media and gives the Kazakh prosecutor-general the right to shut down online resources without going to court.