ASTANA, Kazakhstan, March 18. Kazakhstan plans
to strengthen the protection of citizens’ personal data through
legislative and technical measures following the adoption of the
updated Constitution, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of AI and
Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, said at a government meeting,
Trend reports via the
Government of Kazakhstan.
Madiyev emphasized that the new Constitution enshrines the right
to privacy and protection of personal data from unlawful
collection, processing, storage, and use, including through digital
technologies.
To implement these provisions, amendments will be introduced to
a number of legal acts, including the Code of Administrative
Offenses, the Criminal Code, and laws on personal data and
cybersecurity.
According to Madiyev, the reforms will focus on two key areas.
The first includes organizational and technical measures, such as
the introduction of modern data protection tools, including masking
and hashing. Data exports from state databases will be restricted,
with priority given to system integration, while data extraction
will only be allowed in strictly defined legal cases.
In addition, authorities plan to establish a registry of
personal data operators with classification, as well as a registry
of trusted foreign recipients. Efforts will also focus on raising
cyber awareness.
The second area concerns increased accountability. Data
operators will be required to notify both the authorized body and
citizens about personal data breaches, as well as inform regulators
when they begin processing personal data.
Criminal liability for large-scale data leaks is also under
consideration, along with raising administrative fines up to 5,000
monthly calculation indices (MCI).
A nationwide referendum on the adoption of the new Constitution
was held on March 15. The decree to hold the vote was signed on
February 11 by Tokayev. According to official results, 87.15% of
voters supported the proposal.
