Digital Media Governance and Regulatory Gaps in Azerbaijan Under the Media Law and Artificial Intelligence Strategy

Abstract

Objective: Rapid digitalization has surpassed the ability of regulatory capacity in post-Soviet transition economies. Among the most significant efforts to modernize the digital governance of Azerbaijan are its Law "On Media" (2021) and AI Strategy (2025–2028), which, however, have never been tested empirically for their effectiveness in practice. This study aims to assess the compliance of Azerbaijan's media law with international standards, elucidate the regulatory gaps, and analyze the implications of AI for media governance. Design/Methodology: Using comparative normative analysis and doctrinal legal methods, 25 regulatory domains were benchmarked against the EU Digital Services Act, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, drawing on 170 primary and secondary sources of data. Results: The framework had significant structural problems and achieved a mean compliance index of 1.68/5.00. No domains had completed legal coverage; 12 of 25 (48%) did not have any coverage, 13 of 25 (52%) had some coverage but not sufficient coverage, and seven domains (28%) had critical-priority gaps (severity = 5). The areas that were the weakest were in relation to social-media regulation, citizen journalism status, civil defamation law, disinformation mechanisms, and AI-generated content. The AI Strategy did not do much better, with a score of 2.30/5.00 on the media-sector adequacy index and 70% of the provisions relevant only to a limited extent to media governance. Originality/Value: Current reforms have not been as extensive as digital media regulation. This study suggests a hybrid model of regulation, which is based on the theory of the public sphere of Habermas, responsive regulation theory, and normative journalism theory, suitable for Azerbaijan and similar post-Soviet regulatory contexts.