Cyber Law at Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan has a highly restrictive digital environment, and its cyber laws primarily serve to reinforce state control over information and online activity. While there are some legislative acts addressing cyber-related issues, they often prioritize national security and state interests over individual freedoms and privacy.
Here's a breakdown of the cyber law landscape in Turkmenistan:
1. Cybercrime Legislation:
Turkmenistan has incorporated specific cybercrime provisions into its Criminal Code. These provisions cover a range of offenses, including:
Illegal access: Unauthorized access to information systems or networks.
Illegal interception: Intercepting information transmitted through electronic means.
Data interference: Unauthorized destruction, modification, or alteration of computer data.
System interference: Disrupting the normal functioning of information systems or networks.
Misuse of devices: Creating, using, or distributing malicious programs.
Computer-related forgery and fraud: Using computer systems for fraudulent activities.
Offenses related to child pornography: Criminalizing the production and distribution of child pornography.
Infringements of copyright and related rights: Addressing intellectual property violations in the digital sphere.
Dissemination of knowingly false information: This is a particularly concerning provision, often used to suppress dissent or critical reporting.
Illegal appropriation of information: Unlawful taking of information.
Illegal distribution of electronic information sources of restricted permission.
Provision of services for placing online resources with illegal purposes.
Illegal change of mobile subscriber identification numbers.
Procedural Aspects:
The Criminal Procedure Code outlines procedures for investigations, including search and seizure powers that extend to electronic evidence. However, concerns exist regarding the lack of independent judicial oversight for measures like the interception of communications, which are often sanctioned by the prosecutor rather than a judge.
2. Data Protection and Privacy Laws:
Turkmenistan has a Law of Turkmenistan on Information on Private Life and its Protection (No. 519-V of March 20, 2017), often referred to as the "Law on Information" or "Personal Data Law."
Scope: This law regulates the collection, processing, and protection of personal information, aiming to protect human rights and freedoms, including privacy and personal/family secrets.
Definition of Personal Data: It defines personal data broadly as "any data relating to the physical person determined or based on such data, fixed on electronic, paper, or other material medium." It also includes biometric data.
Consent: Collection and processing of personal data generally require the consent of the data subject, which can be in written or electronic form.
Data Subject Rights: The law grants data subjects certain rights, including:
The right to be informed about access to their personal information.
The right to access their personal information.
The right to rectification (correction).
The right to erasure (deletion).
The right to object or opt-out (withdraw consent).
Operator Obligations: It outlines obligations for data operators regarding the safety, confidentiality, and limited access to personal information.
Limitations: While it addresses fundamental principles, it lacks some elements found in more comprehensive data protection regimes like GDPR, such as specific requirements for Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) or the mandatory appointment of Data Protection Officers (DPOs).
Enforcement: The Administrative Code provides for fines and correctional labor for illegal collection, storage, or dissemination of private information without consent.
3. Electronic Transactions Laws:
Turkmenistan has a Law on Electronic Document, Electronic Document Management and Digital Services (Law of March 14, 2020 No. 226-VI), which replaced an earlier "Law on Electronic Document" from 2000.
Legal Validity: This law aims to provide legal status to electronic documents, electronic document management, and digital services. It establishes the legal equivalence of electronic documents with paper documents, provided they meet specific requirements and are certified by an electronic digital signature.
Electronic Signatures: It defines and regulates electronic digital signatures, outlining their authenticity and verification processes.
Scope: It covers relations arising during the creation, processing, sending, transfer, receipt, storage, use, protection, updating, search, collection, distribution, blocking, and destruction of electronic documents and digital services in both state and non-state information systems.
Electronic Payments: The concept of electronic payment documents is also recognized, with legal basis provided by this law and regulations from the Central Bank.
Certification: Software and hardware used for electronic document processing are subject to certification.
4. Internet Censorship and Control:
This is a dominant aspect of Turkmenistan's cyber landscape, severely impacting citizens' digital rights and access to information.
State Monopoly: The internet infrastructure is largely monopolized by the state-owned Turkmentelecom, leading to slow, expensive, and unreliable internet access.
Extensive Censorship: Turkmenistan is consistently ranked among the worst countries for press and internet freedom.
Many social media networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), messenger apps (WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram), independent news sites, and other online resources are arbitrarily blocked.
Reports indicate that a vast number of IP addresses are blocked.
VPN Ban and Repression: The use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and other circumvention tools to access blocked content is explicitly banned and actively suppressed. Authorities actively campaign against VPNs, block access to them, and intimidate users and providers. There are reports of police confiscating and searching mobile phones, even of schoolchildren, to check for VPN apps.
Surveillance: Online activities of citizens are closely monitored by state agencies.
Propaganda: State-controlled media is pervasive, and the internet is used to disseminate state-dictated narratives and glorify the government.
"Autonomous National Digital Network": There have been plans and a decree signed by the president to establish a working commission to develop a "Concept for the formation of a national digital network, not linked to the internet," raising concerns about a potential move towards a more isolated, state-controlled intranet.
In summary, Turkmenistan has a legal framework for cybercrime and electronic transactions, and a data protection law that grants some rights to data subjects. However, these laws operate within a highly controlled and censored internet environment, where state interests and control often override individual digital rights and freedoms. The primary function of "cyber law" in Turkmenistan, in practice, appears to be maintaining strict government control over information and communication.
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