Monday, August 22, 2011 -
Mass communications in Uzbekistan will now be analyzed and monitored by a new commission set up by the Uzbek government.
The commission will be overseen by the Uzbek Agency for Communication and Information, the Trend news agency reported on Tuesday.
The new body will be expected to “implement effective monitoring and improving the activities in the generation and dissemination of information by the media and information security on individuals, society and the state,” Trend quoted the Uzbek cabinet as saying in a new resolution.
Special attention will be paid to calls for the violent overthrow of the media, the fomenting of ethnic or religious hatred and promotions of terror activity.
Other subjects which will be considered by the commission include the violation of territorial integrity and the spread of pornography.
The body was created to protect the interest of the government and the public, as well as to preserve national cultural traditions.
Members of the new commission will be drawn from the justice ministry, the religious affairs committee, the agency for intellectual property, the strategic and regional studies institute and Uzbek information agencies.
Last week, the country announced it would create a social media web site for use by Uzbek citizens living in the country. Observers noted that it is difficult for the government to monitor citizens’ activities on international social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.