Internet Blocking Legislation is Very Dangerous: Samvel Martirosyan

The draft bill on amendments and supplements to the law on the "Legal Regime of Martial Law," which the government has put into circulation, has not been discussed and there have been no public discussions despite its significant importance. This was stated by information security expert Samvel Martirosyan in an interview with News.am.

“Another issue is that this creates oppressive mechanisms that allow for the blocking of websites or applications or even completely shutting down the internet, forcing the media to surrender their equipment. In other words, these are quite harsh measures, but it is unclear who the decision-maker is, who is responsible, and on what basis all of this will be carried out. This creates a broad scope for manipulation and errors, or provides opportunities for targeted use in the context of political punishment, etc.,” he noted.

The expert recalled that we already have experience where official information has been distorted: “We have experiences of blockages that are currently ongoing. Many do not know, but there are Azerbaijani news outlets that are being blocked here. Moreover, there is neither a state of emergency nor martial law, and this is being done in violation of the law. I am not discussing whether they are doing the right thing or not. The point is that state bodies are using mechanisms to bypass the law. Now, if there is a law, it is hard to imagine how much worse violations can become. The bad thing is that civil society is not speaking much about this, meaning there are no restraining mechanisms. This naturally raises more concerns. The lack of balance from civil society creates fertile ground for us to drift away from democracy toward the opposite side,” emphasized Samvel Martirosyan.