29.12.2025 18:33:00
Дата публикации
The draft Digital Code of Kazakhstan, recently approved by the Senate, establishes a fundamental approach to digital regulation: human rights, freedoms, and legitimate interests in the digital environment are recognized as the highest value.
The principle of their observance is enshrined among the basic principles of digital legislation, and any restriction of such rights is allowed only by law and only to the extent necessary to protect the constitutional order, public order, the rights and freedoms of others, public health, and morality.
From this principle emerges a new system of digital human rights, comprehensively enshrined for the first time in the Digital Code.
The Code introduces the right to digital identity, recognizing it as an object of legal protection equal to other intangible benefits.
No one can be compelled to digital identification except by law, and the state assumes the obligation to protect digital identity from unlawful interference and abuse.
Special emphasis is placed on individual control over personal data. The right to demand deletion, anonymization, or restriction of data processing in the digital environment is guaranteed.
Thus, Kazakhstan effectively recognizes the “right to be forgotten” as part of digital rights, while maintaining a balance with public interests, justice, and other legitimate purposes.
Digitalization in the Code is directly linked to inclusion. Accessibility of digital public services and systems becomes a legal obligation, aligned with international accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.
A special place is given to provisions on algorithmic systems and fully automated decisions. The Code prohibits discrimination by algorithms and guarantees the right to know about automated decisions, to receive explanations of key factors, and to demand human review if such decisions affect rights and legitimate interests.
Together, these norms form the foundation of digital constitutionalism in Kazakhstan — a model where technological development is subordinated to the priority of human rights, and digital transformation is accompanied by legal responsibility and accountability.
Experts from EDF, Ruslan Daiyrbekov and Dana Utegen, participated in drafting the Code. Within the Majilis Working Group, they proposed several norms aimed at protecting human rights in the digital environment, which were reflected in the updated version of the project.
The principle of their observance is enshrined among the basic principles of digital legislation, and any restriction of such rights is allowed only by law and only to the extent necessary to protect the constitutional order, public order, the rights and freedoms of others, public health, and morality.
From this principle emerges a new system of digital human rights, comprehensively enshrined for the first time in the Digital Code.
The Code introduces the right to digital identity, recognizing it as an object of legal protection equal to other intangible benefits.
No one can be compelled to digital identification except by law, and the state assumes the obligation to protect digital identity from unlawful interference and abuse.
Special emphasis is placed on individual control over personal data. The right to demand deletion, anonymization, or restriction of data processing in the digital environment is guaranteed.
Thus, Kazakhstan effectively recognizes the “right to be forgotten” as part of digital rights, while maintaining a balance with public interests, justice, and other legitimate purposes.
Digitalization in the Code is directly linked to inclusion. Accessibility of digital public services and systems becomes a legal obligation, aligned with international accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.
A special place is given to provisions on algorithmic systems and fully automated decisions. The Code prohibits discrimination by algorithms and guarantees the right to know about automated decisions, to receive explanations of key factors, and to demand human review if such decisions affect rights and legitimate interests.
Together, these norms form the foundation of digital constitutionalism in Kazakhstan — a model where technological development is subordinated to the priority of human rights, and digital transformation is accompanied by legal responsibility and accountability.
Experts from EDF, Ruslan Daiyrbekov and Dana Utegen, participated in drafting the Code. Within the Majilis Working Group, they proposed several norms aimed at protecting human rights in the digital environment, which were reflected in the updated version of the project.
