The draft amendments would allow the government to partially or fully block access to internet and censor information and social media in times of war.

On December 22, 2022 the Ministry of Justice published the draft on making amendments and supplements to the RA Law “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” on e-draft.am, the unified website for publication of legal acts’ drafts. Among other proposed provisions, the draft envisages the following measures that might be applied in case of declaration of martial law:

  • restriction of freedom to expression, as well as temporary confiscation or detention of printing devices, radio broadcasting, sound amplifying equipment, copiers; establishment of a special procedure for accreditation of journalists and special rules for using communication means;
  • restriction of content broadcast on television and disseminated via the Internet, ensuring showing movies and TV programs and disseminating information with exclusively military-patriotic content;
  • temporary suspension (blocking) of websites, social networks, Internet applications, as well as partial or complete restriction of Internet access in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the draft, the government shall define the procedure of the temporary suspension of internet sites, social networks, internet applications, and restriction of internet access.

Concerns around the draft

The proposed restrictions raised concerns among media organisations and civil society experts. Acknowledging that restrictions of freedom of expression might take place in the times of war, they indicate that the provisions included in the draft are very broad and unclear, providing room for discretionary approach and unproportionate application of restrictions. The criteria for restrictions are not defined and the mechanisms of following up the proportionality and necessity of decisions on restrictions are not set.

The Armenian Human Rights Defender (ombudsman) published a statement, mentioning that the amendments can bring serious restrictions to human rights, particularly freedom of expression and access to information. In addition, she noted that it is not clear which state body will be entrusted with deciding what content is acceptable or not when martial law is declared, and urged to review to the problematic provisions.

Learning from the past lessons and need for information security
During the Artsakh war in 2020, websites and TikTok social media were temporarily blocked, but this was not officially acknowledged as there was no legislative basis for such restrictions. A statement was made by the Human Rights Defender that the aggressive content, hate speech and calls to violence are particularly disturbing in social media, while in case of TikTok, widely used by children, there are less possibilities for content control. A number of restrictions on the media publications were also applied during the war time based on the government decision. Many publications were removed and media outlets were fined during that period. CSOs and international organisations criticised some of the restrictions, which then the government lifted. Experts note that the government did not take lessons from the war, as the disinformation and panic during the war was due to the lack of timely and accurate official information.

The full article is available at CSO Meter Website