by CIPI shows that over three-quarters of Internet
users are male.
9
Tajik is the official national language.
However, Russian is the most popular language
for Internet use. The most-visited Web site in
Tajikistan is www.mail.ru, and the most popular
search engines are www.rambler.ru, www.google.
com, www.yahoo.com, and www.yandex.ru.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
The Tajik top-level domain name was registered
with Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
in 1997 but the domain name was later suspended as it was used mainly for registering pornography sites. In 2003 the domain name registration
was delegated to the Information and Technical
Centre of the President of Tajikistan Administration, a state entity that now supervises registrations within the “.tj” domain. 10
The Ministry of Communications requires all
ISPs to obtain licenses in order to operate.
Currently eleven first-tier ISPs are actively providing Internet service in the country. 11 The ISPs do
not reveal information about their bandwidth
because these data are a legally protected commercial secret. This protection extends to the
countries from which the connection originates.
ONI data reveal that most ISPs have two points of
access, one located in Russia and the other in
Western Europe. The majority of ISPs are eligible
to provide Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
services under an IP-telephony license. 12 Recent
amendments require VoIP service providers to
obtain a special license from the Ministry of
Communications.
The main state entities regulating Internet in
Tajikistan are the Security Council (SC), the ICT
Council, and the Ministry of Communications.
The president of the republic, however, remains
the key authority, ratifying the main legal documents in the IT sector and directing ICT policy in
the country. The SC controls the implementation
of the State Strategy on Information and
Communication Technologies for Development
of the Republic of Tajikistan (E-Strategy). The SC
monitors telecommunications, including Internet,
for national security reasons. The ICT Council 13 is
responsible for implementing and coordinating
work under the E-Strategy and advising the president. The Ministry of Communications is the
main regulator in the telecommunications industry and is empowered to issue licenses for any
related activities. The government adopted the
Conception on the Information Security, 14 which
serves as a platform for proclaiming official
views, principles, and policy directions to preserve state information security.
The government restricts the distribution of
information that contains state secrets and other
privileged data that intend to “discredit dignity
and honor of the state and the President,” or that
contain “violence and cruelty, racial, national and
religious hostility…, pornography… and any
other information prohibited by law.” 15 The provisions of this regulation are broad, allowing state
agencies wide discretion in their application. The
control over information security is assigned to
the Main Department of State Secrets and the
Ministry of Security.
Tajikistan does not have an official policy on
Internet filtering. However, state authorities have
been known to restrict access to some Web sites
at politically sensitive times by communicating
their “recommendations” to all top-level ISPs.
Prior to the 2006 presidential elections, the
Communications Regulation Agency issued a
“Recommendation on Filtering” advising all ISPs
that “for the purpose of information security” they
should “engage in filtering and close access to
those Internet sites that are directed to undermining the state policy on information sphere.” 16
As a result, several oppositional news Web sites
hosted in Russia or Tajikistan were inaccessible
to Tajik users for several days. 17 Although the officials offered unclear reasons for shutting down
the Web sites, independent media foresee that
the list of affected sites might grow in the future. 18
Country Summaries
387
users are male.
9
Tajik is the official national language.
However, Russian is the most popular language
for Internet use. The most-visited Web site in
Tajikistan is www.mail.ru, and the most popular
search engines are www.rambler.ru, www.google.
com, www.yahoo.com, and www.yandex.ru.
Legal and regulatory frameworks
The Tajik top-level domain name was registered
with Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
in 1997 but the domain name was later suspended as it was used mainly for registering pornography sites. In 2003 the domain name registration
was delegated to the Information and Technical
Centre of the President of Tajikistan Administration, a state entity that now supervises registrations within the “.tj” domain. 10
The Ministry of Communications requires all
ISPs to obtain licenses in order to operate.
Currently eleven first-tier ISPs are actively providing Internet service in the country. 11 The ISPs do
not reveal information about their bandwidth
because these data are a legally protected commercial secret. This protection extends to the
countries from which the connection originates.
ONI data reveal that most ISPs have two points of
access, one located in Russia and the other in
Western Europe. The majority of ISPs are eligible
to provide Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP)
services under an IP-telephony license. 12 Recent
amendments require VoIP service providers to
obtain a special license from the Ministry of
Communications.
The main state entities regulating Internet in
Tajikistan are the Security Council (SC), the ICT
Council, and the Ministry of Communications.
The president of the republic, however, remains
the key authority, ratifying the main legal documents in the IT sector and directing ICT policy in
the country. The SC controls the implementation
of the State Strategy on Information and
Communication Technologies for Development
of the Republic of Tajikistan (E-Strategy). The SC
monitors telecommunications, including Internet,
for national security reasons. The ICT Council 13 is
responsible for implementing and coordinating
work under the E-Strategy and advising the president. The Ministry of Communications is the
main regulator in the telecommunications industry and is empowered to issue licenses for any
related activities. The government adopted the
Conception on the Information Security, 14 which
serves as a platform for proclaiming official
views, principles, and policy directions to preserve state information security.
The government restricts the distribution of
information that contains state secrets and other
privileged data that intend to “discredit dignity
and honor of the state and the President,” or that
contain “violence and cruelty, racial, national and
religious hostility…, pornography… and any
other information prohibited by law.” 15 The provisions of this regulation are broad, allowing state
agencies wide discretion in their application. The
control over information security is assigned to
the Main Department of State Secrets and the
Ministry of Security.
Tajikistan does not have an official policy on
Internet filtering. However, state authorities have
been known to restrict access to some Web sites
at politically sensitive times by communicating
their “recommendations” to all top-level ISPs.
Prior to the 2006 presidential elections, the
Communications Regulation Agency issued a
“Recommendation on Filtering” advising all ISPs
that “for the purpose of information security” they
should “engage in filtering and close access to
those Internet sites that are directed to undermining the state policy on information sphere.” 16
As a result, several oppositional news Web sites
hosted in Russia or Tajikistan were inaccessible
to Tajik users for several days. 17 Although the officials offered unclear reasons for shutting down
the Web sites, independent media foresee that
the list of affected sites might grow in the future. 18
Country Summaries
387