Security issues are as important as development of ICT – MP

Nowadays information technologies are an integral part of the modern world. The statement came from Rabiyyat Aslanova, the chairwoman of the Committee on Human Rights of the Milli Majlis.
In an interview to the New Azerbaijan Party, she noted at the same time, security, a predominant principle of any information, should also be focused.

"Any information disseminated in the world can affect a person both positively and negatively. And it would be good to do it that it does have an adverse impact on the person, and to this end there is a need to constantly educate people about the importance of information, about its positive and negative impacts," she noted.

The MP stressed that Azerbaijan was a leader of the region in terms of the development of information and communication technologies.

"In Azerbaijan every 20th persons is registered at social network Facebook. Azerbaijan has ranked 71st among 138 countries for the development of ICT in WTO report "Global information technologies 2010-2011.

For example, among the countries of the region, Turkey ranked 71st, Russia 77th, Georgia 98th, Armenia 109th. This shows that Azerbaijan has advanced in ICT sphere. But at the same time, we should not forget about security issues," the MP said.

Aslanova also touched upon the role of the Internet and social networks in modern society.
"It's no secret that the Internet has evolved into an important part of our lives. The emergence of social networks, along with their great significance, has created a number of problems. More than a billion people were registered in Facebook alone. And nowhere, including Azerbaijan, the regulation of social networks is observed.

Therefore, social networks operate in this country completely independently. Of course, social networks provide a wide field of human communication and discuss pressing issues. But there are problems in presenting information in social networks. Therefore, people should know both positive and negative roles of social networks," the MP said.

According to Aslanova, the question of security came up with the development of ICT: "To this end, the Council of Europe in 2001 adopted a convention against cybercrime, which Azerbaijan joined in 2008."
Aslanova also considers important to adopt the law "On mental health and emotional security". According to her, already 35 countries around the world have adopted similar laws.

In the U.S., for example, billions of dollars are directed in this area. Such laws are necessitated by the need to protect human rights in the television space and on the Internet.

"Let's be frank, there are many programs that are shown on television and have very detrimental effect on the psyche of not only adults but also children. Therefore it is necessary to resolve these issues. And that is why in our globalizing world, security issues are as important as the development of ICT," Aslanova stressed.