Azerbaijani parliament considers fines to strengthen child protection on social media

Azerbaijani parliament considers fines to strengthen child protection on social media

A draft law introducing fines for violations of requirements related to age-restricted social networks is being discussed in Azerbaijan"s Milli Majlis.

The proposed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses are under consideration by parliamentary committees on human rights, family, women and children, as well as legal policy and state building.

The bill provides for fines against social media providers for failing to submit, delaying, or providing incomplete or inaccurate information to the relevant state authority.

Officials could be fined between 6,000 and 7,000 manats, while legal entities may face fines of 15,000 to 20,000 manats.

For failure to respond to requests from the authorized body within five working days or for providing incorrect or incomplete data, fines would range from 7,000 to 8,000 manats for officials and 25,000 to 30,000 manats for legal entities.

The draft law also introduces liability for failing to ensure safe social media use for minors, including the absence of age verification systems, insufficient safeguards for users aged 16-18, and failure to prevent harmful content.

Additional penalties are proposed for misuse of minorschr("39") personal data for commercial purposes or targeted advertising, as well as for failing to remove content or personal data posted before adulthood upon request.

In cases of repeated violations within a year, fines would increase further.

If approved, the law will enter into force 12 months after official publication.