BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 8. A joint meeting of the Azerbaijani Parliament's Human Rights, Family, Women and Children's Issues, Legal Policy and State Building Committees, and a public hearing were held on June 8, a source in the parliament told TurkicWorld .
At the event, the draft law on amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Azerbaijan, the laws "On information, informatization and information protection" and "On protection of children from harmful information" were discussed in the first reading.
Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Zahid Oruj, expressed gratitude to the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, Sahiba Gafarova, for the support and the conditions created for the discussion of the issue in a broader format - in the form of a public hearing, taking into account the significant importance of the submitted draft law.
The committee chairman said that the discussion of the draft law ensuring the protection of children's rights in the digital space with parliamentarians, state and government representatives, media, and relevant education and health authorities is commendable. He noted that the Azerbaijani Parliament has adopted consistent and systematic decisions in recent years to protect children from harmful information in the digital environment, and the new draft law presented today is a continuation of this policy. The chairman highlighted the existing experiences of a number of countries around the world regarding the legal regulation of the age limit for joining digital platforms.
Moreover, it was noted that according to a report by the World Health Organization, which shows statistics on children's social media use around the world, 35 percent of adolescents spend an average of more than 5 hours a day on their phones. The organization has included gaming addiction as an official disease on its list since 2019. Mentioning the indicators related to Azerbaijani children, the committee chairman said that according to a survey conducted last year, 89 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 17 are smartphone users, 76 percent of them use social media platforms daily, and that social media addiction also affects the family budget.
Sharing his views on the draft law submitted for discussion, Oruj said that the draft sets the minimum digital maturity age for opening individual digital accounts on social networks at 16 years of age to protect the physical and psychological health of children under 16 years of age and protect them from various inciting and provocative calls. According to the new norm, platform providers must apply verification mechanisms, namely age verification methods based on a bank card, email, and mobile number. A different - more flexible, but controlled mechanism is defined for the 16-18 age group. Teenagers in this age group can create accounts on platforms with the consent of their parents. The transfer of personal data to third parties is considered unacceptable. The chairman of the committee emphasized that, according to the results of a survey conducted in December 2025, 87.3% of people in our country support proposals to regulate the use of social media by children under 16 years of age, which is a social order.
Then, the Chairperson of the Committee on Family, Women, and Children's Issues, Hijran Huseynova, made a speech and noted that information and communication technologies are one of the most important requirements of our time. She said that, as the Head of State, Ilham Aliyev stated in his speeches, the successful development of every state is based on technological support. The digital development and innovation policy implemented by our state is one of the priority issues. Relevant strategic documents, normative legal acts, and action plans are adopted in this area, and institutional mechanisms are formed.
The chairperson emphasized that in Azerbaijan, child protection is provided at a high level, opportunities are created for their healthy development, education, and improvement of knowledge and skills. Child care is always in the spotlight of President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva. Protecting children from harmful influences, creating comprehensive conditions for their healthy growth, and providing support are integral parts of the state's social policy. At a time when social networks are an integral part of life, preventing their uncontrolled use is an important issue for the psychological health of children.
Huseynova noted that the draft law being discussed today aims to protect children from cyber threats, violence, harmful content, and negative effects on mental health. Saying that measures have been determined to protect children from harmful information in connection with the implementation of their right to age-appropriate information in Azerbaijan, and that relations arising in this area are being regulated, the chairperson spoke about the importance of taking steps aimed at resolving these issues on social networks in the current period, as a continuation of this process.
Then, Chairman of the Committee on Legal Policy and State Building, Ali Huseynli, said that the submitted draft law serves to more effectively protect the rights and interests of children in the digital environment, ensure the safe use of social network platforms, and improve the legal regulation of the activities of the platforms.
He noted that, according to the draft, it is proposed to add a new Article 388-4 to the Code of Administrative Offenses on violation of requirements related to the activities of social network platforms with age restrictions. The chairman said that the disposition provides for the application of fines for violation of relevant legislation. He noted that the subjects of fines are officials and legal entities, and the sanctions are adequate for the offense that may be committed.
At the event, Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) Sabina Aliyeva, Chairperson of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children's Issues Bahar Muradova, Deputy Minister of Science and Education Firudin Gurbanov, Deputy Minister of Health Ilgar Gasimov, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Hasanov, and Rector of the Medical University Garay Garaybayli made speeches on the draft law, sharing their positions on the draft law of their institutions, as well as their views on the importance of the proposed changes.
The speeches noted that the rapid development and widespread application of digital technologies expose children to harmful effects and new risks and dangers to their health. Studies have shown that social networks, interactive platforms, and online games, which have become widespread among children in recent years, can negatively affect their physical, psychological, and emotional development.
The fact that age limits for children's use of the Internet are often formal in nature, the lack of effective control mechanisms, and other gaps increase the risk of violations of children's rights. It was pointed out that these conditions necessitate the creation of more effective legal and institutional mechanisms to ensure the digital safety of children, protect them from harmful content, and protect their health.
It was highlighted that the proposed draft law also serves these purposes. The project envisages the regulation of the activities of social network platforms, increasing their responsibility, improving legal mechanisms related to the more reliable protection of children's personal data, and preventing the spread of harmful content.
It was noted that the submitted draft law also serves these purposes. The project envisages the regulation of the activities of social network platforms, increasing their responsibility, improving legal mechanisms for more reliable protection of children's personal data, and preventing the spread of harmful content.
The speakers emphasized that various state agencies participated in the preparation of the draft law, international experience was studied, and the proposals of relevant agencies were taken into account. It was noted that, as in many countries of the world, in Azerbaijan, legislation and protection mechanisms aimed at protecting children from harmful influences in the digital environment are being improved in accordance with modern challenges.
The discussions emphasized that in order to achieve the goals set in this area, in addition to the joint activities of state agencies, the active participation of parents, families, educational institutions, and society as a whole is important. The main goal is to protect children from the dangers of the digital environment, as well as create conditions for them to safely and effectively benefit from the opportunities created by modern technologies. This can only be possible as a result of the cooperation and responsible approach of all interested parties.
Later, during the relevant discussions, the Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Family, Women and Children's Affairs of the Azerbaijani Parliament Jala Aliyeva, MPs Azer Allahveranov, Erkin Gadirli, Head of the "Clean World" Women's Aid Public Union Mehriban Zeynalova, Chairpersoan of the "Support to the Education of Women and Children" Public Union Sevinj Abdullayeva, the head of the "Promising Future" Social Initiatives Public Union, Kamala Ashimova, chairman of the Azerbaijan Press Council, Rashad Majid, deputy executive director of the Media Development Agency, Natig Mammadli, head of the Legal Assurance Department of the State Committee for Family, Women and Children's Issues, Taliya Ibrahimova, made speeches and voiced their opinions and suggestions.
Moreover, it was noted in the speeches that the document will serve to ensure the protection of children from harmful content, cyberbullying, online addiction, disinformation, and other negative influences. It was underscored that this document will be an important contribution to strengthening the safety of children in the digital environment and to more reliable protection of their rights and interests.
At the end of the discussions, Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Rashad Hasanov clarified the issues raised.
In conclusion of the meeting, the draft law was recommended for the first reading to the plenary session of the Azerbaijani Parliament.
The event was attended by members of the Azerbaijani Parliament Committees on Human Rights, Family, Women and Children's Issues, and Legal Policy and State Building, representatives of the Parliamentary Staff, representatives of relevant state bodies, non-governmental organizations, and other officials.
