A parliamentary committee of Kyrgyzstan’s Supreme Council (Jogorku Kenesh) on Tuesday approved a draft law that would ban access to pornographic websites in the country, marking a significant step toward expanding existing obscenity regulations into the digital sphere.

The Committee on Law and Order, Combating Crime and Corruption reviewed and approved the proposed law, titled “On Prohibition of Access to Sites Containing Pornographic Content Elements in the Internet Space of the Kyrgyz Republic,” during its May 20 session.

According to a background statement issued by the Council’s Department of Public and Media Relations, the legislation aims to protect “moral and ethical values of society, as well as the spiritual health of the individual.”

Lawmakers cited growing concern over the easy accessibility of online pornography, warning that it contributes to the degradation of public morals and consciousness.

“It is destroying the spiritual, moral, and ethical form of people’s consciousness,” the statement read.

Kyrgyz law already prohibits the import, production, distribution, and advertisement of pornographic materials. However, those laws have not previously extended to online content, a gap lawmakers are now seeking to close.

Committee members considered three related legislative proposals in their first reading:

• A law prohibiting access to websites containing pornographic content,
• Amendments to the Code of Offenses of the Kyrgyz Republic,
• And changes to legal provisions governing administrative responsibility for the distribution of such content online.
• MP Marlen Mamataliyev, one of the bill’s sponsors, presented the proposal, stating that the draft law includes a formal definition of what constitutes “content containing elements of a pornographic nature.” The law would criminalize the distribution of such content online and introduce penalties for violators.

During the committee session, MPs Arslanbek Egemberdiev and Ruslanbek Zhakyshev asked how website owners who distribute pornographic content would be held accountable, requesting clarification on enforcement mechanisms.

MP Alisher Erbaev also proposed amendments to certain provisions of the draft legislation.

At the conclusion of the session, the committee approved the draft laws in their first reading. Additional legislative steps, including second and third readings and full parliamentary approval, remain before the measures can become law.

The committee also approved two other bills in their third readings—one on the prevention of organized crime and another regulating investigative operations.

If fully enacted, the proposed pornography ban would bring Kyrgyzstan in line with several other countries that have moved to restrict access to adult content online, often citing cultural and religious values. Critics of similar laws elsewhere have raised concerns about censorship and potential overreach, though those debates have yet to unfold publicly in Kyrgyzstan.