Lawmaker proposes regulating social media platforms in Azerbaijan

A law defining the responsibilities of social media platforms in Azerbaijan should be drafted, Azerbaijani MP Hikmat Mammadov said during the first plenary meeting of the autumn session of the Milli Majlis (Parliament) held today.

Mammadov noted that social media platforms pose challenges to the country's digital sovereignty.

"The vast majority of these platforms are private companies. They enter the Azerbaijani market, engage in various types of activities, violate our information sovereignty, and manipulate national and ideological thinking. All of this requires social media platforms to be regulated by a single law so that they do not pose a threat to our digital sovereignty. I believe we should prepare a draft law that first and foremost defines the responsibilities of these companies in Azerbaijan. The legal liability they bear, as well as the restrictions that should or could be applied in cases of disinformation, manipulation, or ideological provocation, should be determined by law," he said.

The MP also argued that the taxation of revenues earned by social media companies in Azerbaijan should be regulated by legislation.

"These companies generate substantial income in Azerbaijan, and the issue of taxing that income should be regulated by law. In cases where our digital sovereignty is violated, we should be able, as in some European countries, to file claims against a social media platform so that the company understands its financial responsibility and refrains from such activities in the future," he added.