The Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI) says evidence shows Kazakhstan has been limiting access to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's websites in the Central Asian country over the past seven months, a period that began just ahead of snap general elections.
OONI, which monitors and reports on Internet censorship, says in a report released on April 28 that it investigated reports that certain RFE/RL webistes -- namely its local services in Kazakhstan, Azattyq.org and Rus.azattyq.org, along with Current Time -- were "throttled" in the country in the months leading up to snap elections in November 2022.
The practice continued into April and still occurs in some instances, it added.
"Throttling is a subtle yet effective method used to restrict access to online content," OONI says in the report.
International human rights groups have said that Kazakhstan frequently blocks or restricts access to social media. Freedom House, in its annual report on the level of the Internet freedom in the world, defined Kazakhstan as a "not free" country in its latest report released earlier this year.
"Audiences across Kazakhstan trust Radio Azattyq's coverage to provide transparency and accountability, and we will always find ways to reach them," RFE/RL President and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Fly said.
"We call on the Kazakh government to stop blocking independent information," he added.
In May 2022, President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev, who easily won the November 20 snap election, signed into law a controversial and opaquely worded bill that allows the authorities to shut down social media and messaging platforms that the government says is aimed at protecting users from cyberbullying.
But Internet experts and activists criticized the legislation, saying it would give the authorities tighter control over social networks and messaging.
Rights activists have accused the Kazakh authorities of purposely using "unclear language" in legislation to crack down on dissent.
RFE/RL is an editorially independent media company funded by a grant from the U.S. Congress through the U.S. Agency for Global Media. It distributes information in 27 languages to 23 countries where media freedom is restricted or professional journalism is underdeveloped.
Current Time is a Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with Voice of America.