Azerbaijan to fine social media platforms in under-16 ban plan

Social media companies in Azerbaijan face heavy fines if they fail to block children under the age of 16 from creating accounts, under a draft law.

Parliamentary committees in Baku discussed the proposals on Monday, following a presidential decree earlier this year to protect children online.

Under the draft legislation, tech companies that violate the age restriction rules could be fined up to 40,000 manats (£18,500; $23,500). Officials who fail to enforce the rules face fines of up to 9,000 manats (£4,150; $5,300).

The law would block children under 16 from setting up personal profiles. Teenagers aged between 16 and 18 would be allowed to register but under strict supervision and with parental consent.

The proposed law also targets addictive platform features. Social media providers would be forced to disable "infinite scroll" and autoplay video functions for users under the age of 18.

Additionally, any personal data collected to verify a user's age - such as bank details, phone numbers or email addresses - cannot be shared with third parties or used for commercial purposes.

Zahid Oruc, a member of parliament who proposed the measures, said the goal was to safeguard children's physical and mental health.

The main essence of this initiative is to postpone children's use of social media platforms until a certain age, allowing them to grow up in a safer digital environment," he said.

Companies would also be required to submit annual compliance reports to the government by 15 January each year.

The move comes amid a growing international debate over children's access to social media.

Last year, Australia became the first country to pass a law banning social media for children under 16. The UK government has also said it is looking into the effectiveness of a similar ban.

In Azerbaijan, the government is already tightening internet rules in education. Firudin Gurbanov, the deputy minister of science and education, confirmed on Monday that the short-video app TikTok has been blocked on school networks nationwide, alongside more than 200 other restricted topics.

However, the proposals have drawn concern from some independent analysts who fear the restrictions could be used to curb online expression in a country where fundamental freedoms are heavily restricted.

The government has rejected those criticisms, insisting the measures are purely protective.

It remains unclear which specific platforms will be targeted, or when the draft law will face a final vote in the full parliament.