Qazaqstan IGF 2023: National Internet Governance Forum — inaugural edition — In-Depth Report: Minutes Digest & 3-Line Summary

The 3-Line Summary

Kazakhstan's first national Internet Governance Forum, Qazaqstan IGF 2023, met at Almaty's SmArt.Point on 18 October 2023 with 150+ in the room and 300 online.
Thirteen panels covered free speech in the age of algorithms, the draft mass media law, Internet access during disasters and crypto regulation; a data-protection memorandum with Romania was signed and a Digital Rights Compliance Rating of local platforms released.
Opening on the question 'who controls the Internet? — each of us', a civil-society-led IGF taking root in Central Asia's restrictive environment was significant, timed just after the global IGF in Kyoto.

Welcome — this is the Japan IGF Support Organization. This in-depth report on Qazaqstan IGF 2023: National Internet Governance Forum — inaugural edition draws on official outputs, session records and on-site reporting. In a hurry? The three lines above and the diagrams carry the gist.

Conference at a Glance (from official records)

Item	Detail
Official name	Qazaqstan IGF 2023: National Internet Governance Forum — inaugural edition
Edition	Inaugural national IGF (initiative established in 2023; the catalog's earlier 'Astana' was wrong — Almaty is correct)
Dates	18 October 2023
Venue	SmArt.Point, 280 Bayzakova Street, Almaty
Theme	Regional governance themes
Participants	More than 150 in-person participants plus 300 online listeners
Sessions	13 panel sessions per the official report's highlights (the table of contents numbers 12 sessions plus the opening)
Host	Organized by the Eurasian Digital Foundation and Digital Rights Center Qazaqstan with ICANN support; attended by the Ministry of Digital Development, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the UN Mission, OSCE, the U.S. Consulate General, USAID and Majilis deputies
Outcome	Signing of a memorandum between Kazakhstan's Information Security Committee and Romania's data-protection authority (ICI Bucharest); release of the Digital Rights Compliance Rating 2023 (Kaspi.kz named Best Company); covered by 16 accredited outlets with 21 media mentions

(See the source list at the end of this article.)

Discussion Digest — from the Session Records

Key exchanges extracted from session records and transcripts.

1. Who Controls the Internet? — a Civil-Society-Led Opening

Sessions: Forum opening (18 October 2023)

"Together we are witnessing the growing use of data, and these data are leaking, they are being manipulated, and of course this is changing our digital reality. We need to continue to work towards a safe, fair and open digital future where privacy and dignity are not compromised. … The main question on the agenda is: who controls the Internet? The Internet is managed by you and me, each of us, representatives of civil society, government, academic community, and business."
— Sarkis Darbinyan, General Counsel, Eurasian Digital Foundation [1]

"Central Asia demonstrates very intense and steady interest; I congratulate you on the start of the first Qazaqstan Internet Governance Forum."
— Mikhail Anisimov, ICANN Global Engagement Manager for Eastern Europe and Central Asia [1]

Vlastimil Samek of the UN Department of Global Communications noted it was 'very interesting that the national IGF in Kazakhstan starts almost immediately after the global IGF in Kyoto', urging the room to take up the issues António Guterres had raised there [1]
Civil-society organizations — the Eurasian Digital Foundation and Digital Rights Center Qazaqstan — hosted, inviting government and international bodies in [1]

2. Free Speech in the Age of Algorithms and AI — Scrutinizing the Draft Mass Media Law

Sessions: Session 2: 'Free Speech in the Age of Algorithms and AI' / Session 3: 'Draft Law on Mass Media: Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Civil society, lawyers and media examined the pending mass media bill together, with recommendations recorded in the outcome document; speakers included lawyer Roman Reimer (Yerkindik Qanaty), Access Now's Anastasia Zhyrmont (online) and Diana Okremova (Legal Media Center) [1]
Panels weighed how algorithmic distribution and AI-generated content reshape the speech environment — under both state regulation and platform self-regulation [1]

3. The Digital Rights Rating — Citizens Scoring the Platforms

Sessions: Session 5: 'Digital Rights Rating — assessment of compliance with digital rights of Kazakhstan citizens by the largest online platforms'

The Digital Rights Compliance Rating 2023, an independent scoring of Kazakhstan's largest online platforms, named Kaspi.kz Best Company, Krisha.kz Best Service and Chocolife Family for privacy compliance [1]
Instead of state regulation, the approach imports a civil-society ratings mechanism to shift corporate behaviour — a first for Central Asia [1]

4. International Links — the Romania Memorandum and Access in Emergencies

Sessions: Memorandum signing / Session 4: 'Internet Accessibility During Disasters and Emergencies'

A memorandum between the Ministry of Digital Development's Information Security Committee and Romania's ICI Bucharest — the national data-protection research authority — was signed at the forum [1][2]
A dedicated session addressed keeping citizens online during disasters and emergencies, while other panels ranged from crypto and data-market policy to the 5G transition and the digital divide — 13 panels in all [1][2]

Three-Minute Short Talk — Your Questions Answered

Q. An IGF in an authoritarian-leaning state?

A. Yes — and hosted not by government but by digital-rights civil society groups, who brought ministries, the UN, OSCE and US agencies to the table to debate free speech and the media bill head-on.

Q. What made news?

A. Two things: a civil-society Digital Rights Rating scoring Kazakhstan's biggest platforms (Kaspi.kz topped it), and a data-protection memorandum signed with Romania's authority — change via ratings and international links rather than decrees.

Q. Why should I care?

A. Central Asia sits on the digital silk road; how Kazakhstan balances platform regulation, media law and digital rights shapes the operating environment for any company handling data in the region.

What Is Kazakhstan IGF? (for first-time readers)

Kazakhstan IGF is a National or Regional IGF Initiative (NRI), aligning local internet governance discussion with global IGF principles.

Why It Matters to You

What was discussed here becomes the baseline for national digital policy, platform rules and AI regulation worldwide within a few years. The principles confirmed at the 2023 meeting are the foundation of the "next rules" for the phones, social platforms and AI services you use every day.