The pages of the KazTAG news agency on Facebook and Instagram have been blocked, and some of the agency's publications have been removed following complaints about potential copyright infringement. The editorial team stated that it has contacted Meta's administration demanding the restoration of access to the accounts.
WHAT HAPPENED
According to data from the KazTAG editorial team, one of the grounds for the content removal was a notification from Facebook about a potential violation of third-party copyright. At the same time, the agency claims that the rights to the removed video materials belong to the publication itself.
Furthermore, materials containing links to press releases from the General Prosecutor's Office, as well as weather forecasts, were also removed.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE COMPLAINTS
The editorial team clarified that the weather forecasts were based on a daily newsletter from the State Enterprise «Kazhydromet», which the agency has been receiving for many years. After the block, journalists contacted the enterprise's press service to find out whether complaints had been sent to the platform.
Kazhydromet reported that they had sent no such requests.
According to the agency's information, the complaints were made by a user listed as MR. ABHISHEK DHORELIYA SOLE PROPRIETOR OF MARKSCAN. The message notes that this complainant is not connected to the deleted publications.
The editorial team has already contacted Meta's administration with a request to restore access to the pages.
WHY THE SITUATION IS DRAWING ATTENTION
As the agency notes, cases of content removal and blocking of media accounts on social networks, including Facebook and Instagram, have been occurring regularly recently. According to the editorial team's version, in many instances, the basis for this was false complaints.
Earlier, on 11 March, similar actions were recorded from a user under the pseudonym «GIORGIO ARMANI». Following his complaints on the Facebook social network, content related to criticism of the constitutional reform, as well as KazTAG materials unrelated to this subject, was blocked.