The website of the Baku Research Institute (BRI), headed by Altay Goyushov, published an article by Firuza Nahmadova, a graduate of King’s College London and ESSEC BBA, entitled “Internet Censorship: Access, Use and Restriction in Azerbaijan.”

Faktyoxla Lab. has investigated the facts mentioned in the article.

One of the noteworthy points is that there is a link and a claim that the goal of bringing the average speed of fixed broadband Internet usage (from 3.6 Mbps in 2016) to 20 Mbps in 2020, 50 Mbps in 2025 and to the level of developed countries after 2025 in the “key performance indicators” part of the Strategic Roadmap for the Development of Telecommunications and Information Technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan (Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 6, 2016) has not been achieved. Thus, instead of referring to the Speedtest Global Index, which is quite popular at the international level, the methodology of which is well-known and regularly published, the author refers to the “research” by a British company (Cable), mentioned in the article.

The article reads: “Evidence shows that the Azerbaijani government has spent large amounts of money on acquiring equipment to restrict access to certain websites, such as the Israeli Allot Service Gateway’s Deep Packet Inspection hardware worth 3 million USD (Qurium 2018). Qurium and Azerbaijan Internet Watch also linked a series of phishing attacks in early 2020 and 2021 to an IP address from the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. The emails’ objective was to install spyware and malware on the journalists’ computers. The malware would enable the hacker to record from the webcam, execute Windows commands, and extract and upload files from the hacked computer (Azerbaijan Internet Watch 2021b).”

In fact, Azerbaijan has made significant progress in cybersecurity in recent years. Thus, Azerbaijan has improved its position by 15 points in the Global Cybersecurity Index 2020 compiled by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Azerbaijan ranks 40th with 89.31 points.

In the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) 2020, Azerbaijan ranks third among the CIS countries after Russia and Kazakhstan, ahead of Uzbekistan, which ranks 70th in the world, Belarus, which ranks 89th, Armenia, which ranks 90th, and other countries.

Azrbaijan in tersm of GCI is ahead of such ITU member countries (a total of 194) as Switzerland (42), Ireland (46), Georgia (55), Iceland (58), Romania (62), Slovenia (67), the Czech Republic (68) and Ukraine (78).

It is clear that Azerbaijan’s progressing by 15 points in the GCI 2020 is not the result of creating cyber incidents, as shown in the article, but the result of practical efforts at the national level to prevent them.

On November 11, 2020, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies declared the end of internet access restrictions implemented since the beginning of the 44-day war starting September 27. According to the Open Observatory of Network Interference, an open-source project that monitors Internet censorship all over the world, many social media platforms were not accessible in Azerbaijan from September to November 2020 (Azerbaijan Internet Watch 2021a). The same had been done before during the conflict escalation in 2016. While such measures might have made sense in the context of war, some other restrictions on the internet are not uncommon.

Referring to another context (lack of internet freedom) in the article, it should be noted that restrictions on Internet access during the 44-day war in Azerbaijan apply to all countries in a military situation, and these restrictions do not mean that the Internet is not free. This restriction is aimed at preventing large-scale provocations and cyber incidents that may be committed by the Republic of Armenia in the military situation in Azerbaijan during the 44-day war. The author’s reference to the Open Observatory of Network Interference and the failure to fully explain why the restriction was applied is unethical and biased in terms of media ethics.

The author in the article didn’t use the official reports of the State Statistics Committee on the use of the Internet, but a survey based on the views of 40 citizens. The fact that 20 percent of respondents (i.e. eight people) “use social media to confirm or refute the news they consider ‘suspicious’ on TV is a general indicator of the “quality” of the article.

A research survey was carried out on a sample of 40 Azerbaijani citizens interviewed on their views of the local media environment (Seyidov 2020). All participants had access to the Internet and started using social media regularly. The results showed that although 35 out of 40 mentioned TV as the leading news source, 32 mentioned social media as their primary source of information. While national TV news is seen as exaggerated, the internet is a more reliable source of information. Furthermore, 20 percent of the interviewees stated that they use social media to confirm or negate ‘suspicious’ TV-relayed news. Thus, the researcher concludes that information relayed via the internet or social media was seen as a corroborative tool for TV news.

The article also discusses the widespread use of content restrictions and the censorship of websites as the Azerbaijani government bans any content that it considers a threat. At the same time, the relevant article of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On information, informatization and protection of information” was deliberately misinterpreted and presented as if the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies was restricting any resource without a court decision.

In reality, the article identifies which information is prohibited by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Information, Informatization and Information Protection” in our country, just like in the practice of the UK, Europe and other countries in the region. This list is more extensive in the other countries. It includes information promoting terrorism, information on the preparation or use of drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, information on pornography, including child pornography, information inciting the organization and participation in gambling and other illegal activities, methods of solving suicide problems, information violating intellectual property rights, information on the manufacture of firearms, their components, ammunition, explosives, etc. non-politically motivated information.

At the same time, the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Information, Informatization and Protection of Information” sets out mechanisms to prevent the dissemination of prohibited information, and restrictions on any resource can be applied only on the basis of a court decision. This is the last step. This is preceded by a warning as a precautionary measure.

There is a special provision in the law that has not been applied even once since the relevant amendments came into force (March 10, 2017). This provision provides for temporary restraint and immediate appeal to the court ‘in urgent cases when the legally protected interests of the state and society are threatened or there is a real threat to human life and health.’

It is clear that the author, who has no legislative experience, couldn’t interpret the law correctly or deliberately distorted the information.

False information:

Information 1. For example, according to the regional Internet governance organization, Azerbaijan Internet Forum, slower connections ranging from 5 to 6 Mbps cost up to 20 times more in Azerbaijan compared to Georgia and Russia.

Comment. These figures, provided by Cable, are for August-October 2017. This information is based on the prices of 3,000 Internet operators in 196 countries. According to the rating, the cheapest internet is in Iran, and the most expensive is in Burkina Faso. Of the Caucasus countries, Georgia has the cheapest internet tariffs (average monthly internet package is $16.7) and the country ranks 17th. Azerbaijan ($38.1) ranks 55th and Armenia ($46.5 per month) ranks 76th. The top five include Russia (monthly internet tariff is $9.8), Ukraine and others. It turns out that prices in Georgia are 2.2 times cheaper than in Azerbaijan, and in Russia - 3.8 times cheaper. It is difficult to determine where, how and by what mathematical formula the author obtained the calculation “20 times more expensive.”

In addition, it should be noted that the International Telecommunication Union’s Broadband Commission for Digital (Sustainable) Development, one of the major international institutions in this field, has targets set for different periods in 2011, 2013, 2015, etc. The goals of the Commission for 2025 include “expenditure of no more than 2% of the average monthly salary on broadband services in developing countries by 2025,” “By 2025, the number of broadband Internet users will be 75% worldwide, 65% in developing countries and 35% in less developed countries” and so on. The average cost of broadband Internet services in Azerbaijan (~ 20 AZN - 5/10 Mbps ADSL or 30/50 Mbps via fiber optic) is about 2.7 percent of the average monthly salary (722.3 AZN for 2021). This figure is very close to the ITU targets set for 2025. The ITU Broadband Commission’s The State of Broadband 2020 report (p. 35) also shows that the Republic of Azerbaijan is one of the few countries in the world to achieve this goal (from 2021).

According to this indicator, the Republic of Azerbaijan has exceeded the targets set by the ITU Broadband Commission for Digital Development for 2015 (5%) by 2.5% since 2012.

However, the article also distorts the price comparisons of Internet services with certain countries. Thus, in many countries (for example, the Russian Federation) there are significant price differences between the capital and the regions. This fact can be determined as a result of preliminary monitoring, which doesn’t require serious analytical research. However, such facts are ignored in the article and this once again proves the bias. In Azerbaijan, regardless of the region, on average, a single price policy is applied.

Information 2. The 2016 Strategic Roadmap for Telecommunication and Information Technology Development aimed to boost internet access and usage by investing in connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure. One of the goals included increasing the average fixed broadband speed to 20 Mbps by 2020. However, research from a UK telecommunications company shows that, in Azerbaijan, the mean download speed in 2020 was at only 4.89 Mbps, more than twice slower than that of Georgia (Cable 2020).

Comment. According to the Speedtest Global Index, at the beginning of 2020, the average speed of fixed broadband Internet in Azerbaijan was over 21 Mbps. At present, this figure is 24 Mbps, and the average speed of mobile broadband Internet is currently higher than 37 Mbps.

Information 3. The government has often used media to silence criticism of its policies. This feature was particularly present during the first few months of the COVID-19 crisis. As the crisis had large-scale impacts in all countries, President Aliyev declared in his speech on March 19, 2020, that some media was engaging in “open provocations” and working “from the very fifth column, from the enemies who are among us” (Azertag 2020). The “isolation” of these media representatives was called a “historical necessity.”

The author of the article distorted the views of the Azerbaijani president, making extracts from certain parts. Thus, in his congratulatory speech to the people of Azerbaijan on the occasion of Novruz Holiday, President Ilham Aliyev said:

“Unfortunately, we are receiving information about facts related to irresponsibility. At the same time, we see open provocations. Where do these provocations come from? From the very fifth column, from the enemies who are among us, the elements calling themselves opposition, the traitors who receive money from abroad. Their main goal is to destroy Azerbaijan. The worse for Azerbaijan, the better for them. Look at their addresses on social networks, they are full of hatred and provocation. They seem to want riots to happen. They want turmoil. They want panic. And then they claim that they care about the Azerbaijani people. They are our enemies, and we must openly state this. It is not known what this disease will lead to. Therefore, during the existence of the disease, the rules of completely new relationships will apply. Let everyone know this. It is possible that a state of emergency may be declared at some point. In this case, the isolation of representatives of the fifth column will become a historical necessity.”

Distortion of ideas, relocation of sentences is obvious. In general, the points mentioned by President Ilham Aliyev in his speech were later confirmed in the interviews of the opposition, in their speeches at zoom conferences and in their activities in general.

On that eve, at a ‘zoom conference’ of a group of oppositionists, Gultakin Hajibeyli said:

“People are worried about quarantine. There is no need to worry about the prolongation of quarantine rules, I think it is to our benefit. The prolongation of these rules definitely benefits us. The protests of the people sitting at home are increasing, the protests of the people who are not working and who are poor is growing, someone is having difficulty getting food, the living standards of the people are deteriorating. We should be happy about that,” she said. Gultekin Hajibeyli continued: “On the contrary, we should be interested in extending the quarantine a bit and this will allow us demand the distribution of money. Let’s continue our propaganda like this. Therefore, don’t worry, the prolongation of quarantine and the deterioration of the people’s livelihood is definitely in our favor.”

Information 4. The problem is double sided (? -ed.). Citizens, journalists, and activists alike face an expensive and sometime inaccessible internet. At the same time, retribution for online activities is common and self-censorship is becoming the norm. Journalists in particular are under constant threat as the government’s crackdown on press freedom has strengthened over the years.

Comment. At present, the Azerbaijani Internet market is fully liberalized. No license is required to provide Internet services, which stimulates development. There are more than 50 Internet providers in the country. Stable (ADSL and fiber optic) and wireless communication technologies are used to access the Internet.

Over the past 10 years, the percentage of Internet use in the country’s population has increased from 46% to more than 80%, broadband Internet users from 15% to 75%, and households with Internet access from 45.1% to 78.2%.

All three mobile operators operating in the country have been providing high-speed Internet access since 2012 with the application of the latest 4G technology. Azerbaijan was the 37th country in the world to use 4G technology, and the 9th in Europe. Currently, the coverage of 3G in Azerbaijan is 97.6%, and the coverage of 4G is 93%. In addition, technological diversification has played a special role in the development of broadband Internet in the country.

In line with the spirit of the article, the author tried to overshadow the country’s progress in international rankings from year to year by the phrase ‘sometime inaccessible internet.’ However, taking into account the above-mentioned, including technological diversification and, in particular, 100 percent coverage of the country’s territory with mobile communications, it is safe to say that virtually everyone in Azerbaijan has free access to the Internet, excluding ‘inaccessibility.’

The article by Firuza Nahmadova, a graduate of King’s College London and ESSEC BBA, entitled “Internet Censorship: Access, Use and Restriction in Azerbaijan,” besides being biased and without conducting analytical research in the relevant field, attracts attention by purposefully ignoring the practical activity carried out for many years, the development of Internet infrastructure in Azerbaijan, ensuring freedom of the press, speech and expression, the creation of free Internet, etc.

The article is a manipulation of facts rather than a research. The author’s statement that there is no free internet and freedom of speech in Azerbaijan is contradictory in nature.

The activities of the organization headed by Altay Goyushov aren’t transparent, it didn’t provide information on financial sources and donors. According to Azerbaijani legislation, public associations and foundations have to release sources of funding and submit annual reports. There is no information about this on the website of the Baku Research Institute (BRI).