Apple, Google och Mozilla har stoppat Kazakstans försök att övervaka Internet-användare med hjälp av ett speciellt certifikat som installeras i webbläsarna.

Systemet började nyligen att rullas ut av myndigheterna i det som sades vara ett skydd för medborgare mot bedrägerier och hackare. det certifikat som användes gav istället myndigheterna full insyn i det som laddades ned och visades i webbläsarna.

Alphabet Inc’s Google, Apple Inc and Firefox browser maker Mozilla took steps on Wednesday to block the Kazakh government from creating an internet surveillance system using their browsers.

Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox will block a government encryption certificate that allows authorities to read anything a user types or posts using the browsers, including account information and passwords, the companies said in separate statements.

Apple also said in a statement it would take similar measures to protect the users of its Safari browser.

Kazakh authorities were not immediately available to comment.

Nu stoppas certifikatet av tillverkarna av de stora webbläsarna vilket betyder att certifikatet inte kan installeras.

The former Soviet Central Asian nation routinely blocks websites and applications used by its critics, including Facebook and Youtube, for short periods of time.

The blocks have often coincided with public protests, the most recent wave of whoch took place around the time of the June 9 election whoch completed the transfer of power from strongman Nursultan Nazarbayev to his loyal ally Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Reuters