On January 15, 2026, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev approved amendments to the Law “On Information, Informatization and Protection of Information”.
According to these amendments, the dissemination of content that openly expresses disrespect to society and insults public morality on internet resources – websites and social networks – is prohibited. The purpose is to prevent the spread of such content and to protect national-moral values and ethical standards.
With the new legal norm, the dissemination of actions that insult public morality and openly express disrespect to society on internet information resources and information-telecommunication networks is prohibited. This includes immoral expressions, gestures of similar content, as well as the display of p parts in a manner contrary to national-moral values.
The extent to which the control and enforcement mechanisms arising from the law function is a noteworthy point. Cases contrary to the norm, continuously observed on social networks, raise pertinent questions directed at the mechanism.
How should norms and standards be determined? Is there a need for the activity of a special monitoring group?
Azer Badamov, a member of the Milli Majlis, told Modern.az that, in accordance with the law, this control should be carried out by law enforcement agencies:
“Currently, control is being carried out by the relevant organization. Immediate measures are taken against every case found to be contrary to the law”.
The deputy stated that social networks are an extremely vast digital space and a resource should be prepared to control this multitude of quantity:
“At the same time, society must also fulfill its function. Citizens should report every instance they observe in the aforementioned direction. All incoming appeals are definitely reviewed, and this issue is approached with particular sensitivity”.
Azer Badamov noted that, precisely due to the amendment made to the Law “On Information, Informatization and Protection of Information”, the creation of a special monitoring group is not yet on the agenda. Nevertheless, the control and enforcement mechanism is active:
“The amendment is new. It was not realistic for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to cover all profiles in such a short time. Monitoring of all internet resources will be possible within a certain timeframe. If there is a case contrary to the norm in the online space and it has not been detected today, it will be detected tomorrow”.
Commenting on what constitutes a norm, Azer Badamov noted that it is necessary to accept changing criteria related to the development of society. However, no one has the right to violate moral norms that are in line with our national mentality.
Nadir Mammadli, Doctor of Philological Sciences, noted in his statement that a situational approach is required to determine swearing and insult:
“In our language, the verb “getmək” (to go) has 35 meanings. It is understood depending on the context. The situation here is similar. It is necessary to determine in what sense the word is used. Essentially, a word used in a bad sense can be emphasized in a good sense. And vice versa, a word generally understood as good can be used with a negative connotation”.
According to the linguist, non-verbal signals reinforce the verbal side of speech, changing its meaning:
“A speaker can make such a gesture that we might consider the facial expression, not the literal meaning of the word, to be decisive. If someone says with their tongue that Ahmad is a good boy but frowns, who will believe them?”
Nadir Mammadli noted that words carrying the meaning of swearing and insult can be presented, but it will not be entirely sufficient for resolving the issue:
“We have a monitoring group. However, we have not yet received a request for the analysis of what is said on internet resources. But we do go to court expertises. It must be accepted that if there is a complaint about a spoken word or non-verbal speech, it means human dignity has been touched upon”, the linguist added.
Lawyer Akram Hasanov stated in his comment to our website that the issue needs to be approached fundamentally.
"If the aforementioned situations and actions or inactions on internet resources are considered a violation of the law, we must prevent this on other resources as well. Analogous images are also found in Azerbaijani films and even in written sources - in some of our literary works. In this case, social network users may put forward such a claim that the same situation should be removed from the listed Azerbaijani resources and television space.
That is, it is stated in the main law - the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan - that everyone has equal rights. A citizen can claim that the prohibition applied to them should also be applied to those appearing on other resources.
The lawyer considered that if illegal acts occur in the television space, which operates under stronger control, then it is a permissible situation:
"As for the control and enforcement mechanism, the main responsibility lies with law enforcement agencies. It is true that a certain p may not have sufficient control and enforcement potential in terms of quantity. This is also natural. Therefore, society should provide support and report such cases. Analogous experience is also observed in countries around the world. Nations with multi-million populations experience a lack of resources to deal with such matters”.
Regarding the issue, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that measures against illegal and immoral posts on social networks are ongoing:
“Cases of sharing information on social networks that are contrary to public moral norms, have a negative impact on society, and are prohibited by law from being disseminated, are kept under control”.
It was noted that regular work is carried out by police officers in this direction, and individuals disseminating illegal content are identified and brought to justice:
“Regarding individuals who commit such acts, administrative protocols are drawn up under the article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Republic of Azerbaijan concerning the placement of information prohibited from dissemination on internet information resources or information-telecommunication networks, and measures are taken in accordance with legislation".
The information once again emphasizes that social networks are not an environment of anonymity; every shared photo, video, or text can be legally evaluated. Content that violates the law is not only deleted but also creates liability. Users are advised to approach the content of the materials they share seriously and responsibly, and to refrain from disseminating information that violates the requirements of legislation and public moral norms.
