The restriction of the internet is already a problem because neither the real patrons nor their real objectives are known. Samvel Martirosyan, an information security expert, told this to a press conference Monday, commenting on the Armenian government’s initiative to restrict access to the internet during war.
According to the expert, the respective bill was incompletely developed. In particular, it is not clear how all this will be implemented in practice.
“The authorities want to introduce very strict repressive mechanisms, up to the complete shutdown of the internet. As far as I know, no one in Armenia has tried to do something like this yet. We don’t even know what consequences all this can lead to. Imagine that some official will be entrusted with a switch, and one day he will decide that everything should be turned off. No one knows what will happen to the banking system. The cellular connection may simply disappear completely. We generally have a bad idea of the entire infrastructure of our country. For example, we do not have a law on critical infrastructures. That is, we don’t even have a list of these infrastructures, and we still need to understand how to protect it,” explained Martirosyan.
In addition, according to the information security expert, the proposed mechanisms will essentially enamel to “unmask” the media. In other words, the Armenian authorities will be able to deprive them of all necessary equipment.
“They will be able to take away the entire technical base, leaving journalists with only notepads and pens. Although pens can also be taken away, considering them as a tool to fight against military-patriotic propaganda,” Martirosyan noted sarcastically.
He is convinced that the Armenian state should have a comprehensive program that includes increasing the level of media literacy of the entire population.
The expert pointed also to the extremely passive position of the Armenian public. In his opinion, this can ultimately lead to the early adoption of this legislative initiative.
“Furthermore, a significant part of society is in favor of accepting the above-mentioned restrictions. Of course, I understand that people have seen everything, but such restrictions should be sensible. They should be placed within the framework of a certain strategy,” the information security expert emphasized.