Kyrgyzstan to block access to TikTok due to negative impact on children’s health

The government of Kyrgyzstan has decided to block TikTok due to its negative impact on the physical and mental health of minors, according to the country’s Ministry of Culture, Information, Sports and Youth Policy.

The agency highlighted that TikTok is quite effective in immersing users into the virtual world of short reels which makes teenagers want to repeat what they’ve seen on the platform. Some of these reels might be dangerous.

«In addition, the psyche of teenagers is often too weak as it is still in the process of evolving, and such content can cause an addiction and harm the emotional condition of minors,» the ministry said in a statement.

Who has initiated the blocking of TikTok? The decision was made by the ministry due to a huge influx of complaints from non-governmental organizations, which warned about the damage TikTok can cause.

What was the legal justification? According to the ministry, the platform does nothing to protect minors from information that can harm children’s psyche and never differentiates content in terms of different age categories.

Who will be responsible for blocking the service in Kyrgyzstan? The Ministry of Digital Development is going to be the one responsible for the practical implementation of the decision.

Kazakhstan also wants to protect children from violence and suicide to ensure their rights and well-being. In order to meet these goals, the country’s government has prepared a complex plan, which is expected to be implemented over the period from 2023 to 2025. One of the key points of the plan is the banning of registration of children in social media (TikTok included) without proper authorization from their parents.

The ban may enter into force in Q1 of 2025, even though it is unclear how the authorities are going to implement this ban in practice.