The test will be valid for television and radio stations, social networks, films and music videos.
Uzbekistan will soon introduce a “morality test” for media content, including films and songs, in the Central Asian country. The aim of the test is to protect the so-called “national mentality”, according to the authorities there. TASR informs about this according to Tuesday’s AFP report.
“It is really important to prevent the broadcasting of media products that undermine the education of young people and our national mentality,” the state-run Khabar news agency said late Monday. songs and music videos,” she added.
Compatibility with the values of Muslim Uzbekistan
According to a report issued by several government bodies, authorities will “analyze the consistency” of media outlets and their “level of compatibility” with the values of predominantly Muslim Uzbekistan. The former Soviet republic has approximately 35 million inhabitants.
According to the Khabar agency, the Ministry of Culture, the Government Center for Spirituality and Education and the Uzbek Media Association decided on the new rules. The agency for the “unification of the state information policy”, which was once headed by the president’s daughter, also participated in the preparation of the rules.
Since coming to power after the death of dictator Islam Karimov in 2016, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has introduced several reforms in an effort to bring Uzbekistan out of isolation. Rights groups say the country remains deeply authoritarian. Although the government managed to attract foreign investors, the political opposition still does not exist and the press, together with the economy, still largely controls the state.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the press freedom index in Uzbekistan improved after Mirziyoyev took office, but then fell back to the level of the last years of Karimov’s rule.
