Kazakhstan passes transport, data protection law paving way for drone taxis, self-driving carsKazakhstan's Senate approved sweeping legislation Thursday covering road safety, unmanned transport and personal data protection, creating a legal framework for air taxis, self-driving cars and automated rail systems.The law introduces the concepts of advanced and urban air mobility, vertiports, urban air mobility zones and unmanned air traffic services. It also provides for new certificates for operators, developers and manufacturers of highly automated aircraft, including eVTOLs and air taxis.On road safety, the bill tightens oversight of driving schools by introducing a register of training organizations, defining standards for training grounds and adding preventive controls. A ban on warming up vehicle engines is lifted in built-up areas and will now apply only in residential zones.Special license plates will be issued for electric vehicles, electric bicycles will be registered, and traffic rules will extend to parking lots in residential complexes. Digital monitoring of road quality is also introduced.In data protection, the law defines anonymization, deletion, masking and hashing of data, and creates a register of entities collecting and processing personal data along with a register of data security breaches. Operators will be classified as small, medium or large depending on the volume of data handled and risk level. Personal data required by law to be published must be masked, with full access granted only to the individual concerned after identity verification.The National Security Committee gains oversight powers over critical digital infrastructure, including the right to issue compliance orders. Cybersecurity obligations are also written into labor law, making cyber hygiene part of workplace discipline.A state charity platform will be created as a digital trust environment where aid organizations and recipients undergo verification, and information on fundraising and distribution becomes more transparent. Administrative costs for charities will be capped at 20% of collected funds.Local governments will be empowered to develop smart cities and smart regions. Offtake contracts will be introduced to support domestic cybersecurity software developers, and a unified coordinate system will be adopted for cadastral, infrastructure and digital planning.The bill now goes to the president for signing. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX