1 Aug 2022 15:52

Uzbekistan unblocks user access to Twitter, WeChat and VK

TASHKENT. Aug 1 (Interfax) - Unobstructed user access to the social networks Twitter, WeChat and VK has fully resumed in Uzbekistan starting from August 1, the press service for the Information and Mass Communications Agency said on Monday.

Talks with the platform TikTok continue, and information on their results will be reported later, the press service said.

"Blocking only harms development," the agency said.

User access to Twitter, VK and WeChat was unblocked for some time in March 2022. The authorities also unblocked user access to the video messenger Skype. However, user access to the sites was later restricted again.

According to earlier reports, Uzbekistan's State Inspection for Control in the Sphere of Informatization and Telecommunications restricted the operations of Skype, Twitter, TikTok, VK and WeChat in July 2022 over violations by these Internet resources of the law on personal data. The legislation requires all Internet sources to store the country's residents' personal data on the territory of the country.

The operations of the social networks and messengers Telegram, Facebook (the information resource of an organization prohibited in Russia), Odnoklassniki and YouTube were restricted for the same reason in November 2021. However, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called such actions shortsighted, and operation of these resources resumed in the country.

In January 2021, Uzbekistan adopted amendments to the law on personal data that require all Internet resources to store citizens' personal data on the territory of the country starting from April 15. Fines were introduced for social networks for violations of the law on personal data storage on the territory of the country in an amount between $2,500 and $5,000 from February 2022.