Kyrgyzstan is to restrict access to the social media favourite TikTok, citing a need to protect children’s mental development and health. The move was on April 17 confirmed by the country’s digital development ministry. With Kyrgyzstan’s authoritarian populist Japarov administration under fire for aping Russia-style repressive laws in an anti-democratic crackdown on civil society and independent media and jailing opposition politicians, the decision to go after TikTok will invite suspicions that ruling officials are determined to extend even more control over society. Last August, independent …