Idea of Licensing Skype, Facebook and WhatsApp in Azerbaijan Unfounded

Yesterday's statement by the Minister of Communications and High Technologies Ali Abbasov on the government plans to license the services Skype, Facebook and WhatsApp has raised eyebrows in the expert community.

Abbasov explained the idea that some services in Azerbaijan are licensed, and therefore it is advisable to extend this to Skype, Facebook and WhatsApp.

He also said that in October, Azerbaijan will put into operation the largest in the region DATA-center level Trier3. It will be the first data center in the region and it can also be used by other countries as well as the resources of Google, Facebook and others.

Commenting this statement of the Minister for Turan, an expert in media law Alasgar Mammadli said that these resources are via the Internet, and this area is not licensed in Azerbaijan.

"They do not use frequencies or any resources of Azerbaijan and act through the Internet. You cannot license what does not belong to you. These companies are located abroad and operate online. They may say, do not use our services if you do not want to. But disabling these services would be a blow for the exchange of information between citizens and violation of freedom of the Internet and would seriously undermine the image of the country," said Mammadli.

At the same time, the expert admits the conclusion of contracts between the parties on mutual obligations under international law.

For example, the government of Azerbaijan can offer to companies to carry out decisions of the courts of Azerbaijan to block profiles in social networks in order to combat terrorism. But these decisions should be made by the courts and in accordance with international law, and not have the character of restrictions on freedom of information.

Some countries, such as Turkey, have introduced temporary restrictions on access to social networks, but they are not licensed. Restrictions apply only to the Internet in the most authoritarian regimes - North Korea, China and Iran, Mammadli said.

The head of Internet Forum Osman Gunduz also pointed to the absence of national legislation on the licensing requirements of social media.

The law lists the communications services subject to licensing and the resources named by Abbasov do not belong to them. In international practice, there is no concept of "licensing of social media."

At the same time, in some countries, such as the Russian Federation, Turkey and Belarus, there are certain restrictions on the Internet in order to protect personal information, children and others.

The fight against illegal content and harmful information should not be at the expense of all Internet restrictions, violation of rights of other users, because it violates the freedom of information, said Gunduz.

He also emphasized the fact that President Ilham Aliyev has always stressed that the Internet is free in Azerbaijan.

On the other hand such companies as Facebook, Twitter and Skype are huge structures with budgets in excess of the budget of Azerbaijan and it is better to cooperate than to clash with them. -06B-