TikTok appears to have been blocked in Kyrgyzstan after the Central Asian nation’s security services requested restrictions on the social media platform in order to “protect children.”
When AFP journalists in the country tried to access TikTok on Thursday, a message read: “Unable to load, please try again.”
Owned by Chinese group ByteDance, TikTok has faced a global backlash from politicians and regulators over issues ranging from the mental health effects of the app on children to the data it allegedly scoops up from users.
Kyrgyzstan’s digital ministry said on Tuesday it had “informed telecommunications operators of the need to limit access to TikTok, based on a decision by the security services.”
The KGB secret police of the Soviet era were replaced by Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (GKNB), which is led by the formidable Kamchybek Tashiev.
ByteDance was said to have “failed to comply” with legal requirements outlined in a law intended to protect children’s “mental, physical, spiritual, and moral development,” according to the digital ministry.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed “concern” over the decision earlier this week.
“RSF calls on the government to lift this arbitrary blocking and define a clear legal framework to regulate platforms,” the pressure group said in a post on X on Wednesday following local media reports that a ban was imminent.
Bishkek has been mounting an escalating campaign to bring independent media and civil society closer under state control.
With its proximity to China and strong economic relations to Beijing, Kyrgyzstan used to be an anomaly in Central Asia, offering a comparatively open environment for information exchange in contrast to its extremely restrictive neighbors.
However, in an effort to stifle dissent, authorities have suspended independent media outlets, arrested multiple journalists, and enacted a law targeting “foreign agents” in recent months.
Amidst concerns about ties to the Chinese government, TikTok is also in the news for its data policies in the US and the EU.
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