The Law on Electronic Commerce establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringement. Art. 1 defines an intermediary as any natural or legal person that provides services enabling the electronic circulation of documents between the sender and the recipient.
Under Art. 12.2, intermediaries that transmit information supplied by buyers or sellers through a communications network, or provide access to such a network, are exempt from liability for the transmitted information where they do not initiate the transmission, select the recipient, or modify the content. Art. 12.3 extends immunity to the automatic, temporary, and short-term storage of information carried out solely to facilitate more efficient onward transmission, provided that the intermediary does not alter the information, complies with applicable access conditions and generally accepted updating rules, does not interfere with lawful technologies used to obtain usage data, and acts promptly upon notice that the information has been removed or access restricted at source, including pursuant to a court decision or a request from a competent authority.
Under Art. 12.4, intermediaries that store information supplied by buyers or sellers are not liable where they lack actual knowledge of its unlawful nature or, in damages claims, are unaware of facts or circumstances indicating unlawfulness, and act expeditiously to remove or disable access once notified. Finally, Art. 12.5 confirms that intermediaries are not subject to a general obligation to monitor transmitted or stored information, or actively seek evidence of unlawful activity, and may not undertake such monitoring on their own initiative.

Under Section 1.1 of the "Requirements Applicable to the Sale and Use of Communication Devices by Communication Enterprises (Operators) and by Their Dealers and Distributors", communication enterprises (operators) operating within the territory of Azerbaijan, together with their dealers and distributors, are required, in the course of selling and using communication devices, to ensure that subscriber information (as specified in the annex) are included both in contracts concluded with natural and legal persons and in subscriber information databases. In addition, Section 1.4 stipulates that contracts must have attached a copy of the identity document containing the photograph of the natural person or, where the contracting party is a legal person, of the natural person who will use the device.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Azerbaijan. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

Art. 31 of the Law on Media stipulates that an on‑demand media service provider must operate under a licence. Such a provider makes its programme catalogues available either through the transmission mechanisms of a platform operator or directly via the Internet, including through mobile applications. The on‑demand media service provider is required to furnish the Council with information concerning all programmes included in its programme catalogue, as well as the agreements establishing the broadcasting rights acquired for the dissemination of these programmes.
Art. 32.1 of the Law on Media stipulates that a platform operator must hold a licence in order to conduct its activities. Art. 1.1.21 defines a platform operator as any natural or legal person that retransmits programmes, including on‑demand media services, via cable, IPTV, Over-the-Top (OTT), mobile television, or satellite by means of encoded broadcast signals. Pursuant to Art. 12.4, a platform operator is required to submit to the Council a copy of the agreement concluded between itself and a foreign audiovisual broadcaster, or a person authorised to contract on the broadcaster’s behalf, for the purpose of retransmitting the programmes of foreign audiovisual broadcasters.

Appendix No. 1 to the Law on Licences and Permits enumerates the categories of activities for which a licence is required, including IP telephony.

Appendix No. 1 to the Law on Licences and Permits enumerates the categories of activities for which a licence is required, including data transmission.

Appendix No. 2 to the Law on Licences and Permits sets out the categories of activity requiring a licence in cases relating to State security, including the establishment of personal data information resources, the development and maintenance of information systems, activities in the field of design and manufacturing of information security products, and the development of biometric technologies and the maintenance of such technologies.
Art. 9.14 of the Law on Personal Data provides that the establishment of personal data information resources and the development of information systems, as well as the provision of related services, may be undertaken only pursuant to a special permit (licence) issued in accordance with Azerbaijani legislation. Art. 15 further requires that personal data information systems be registered with the competent executive authority and, save for certain limited exceptions, prohibits the collection and processing of personal data in the absence of such state registration. Under Arts. 2.1.3 and 2.1.4, personal data information resources are defined as personal data contained within information systems in the manner and to the extent prescribed by law, as well as distinct information resources in which personal data is collected, whereas a personal data information system refers to an information system that ensures the collection, processing, and storage of personal data in accordance with legislative requirements.

The List of Executive Authorities Responsible for Implementing Export Controls, approved by Decision No. 230, indicates that electronics are subject to import licensing requirements.

Azerbaijan maintains a telecommunications regulatory body known as the Information Communication Technologies Agency (ICTA), which is responsible for certification, registration, regulation and oversight, including quality control, within the domains of information and communication technologies and communications (telecommunications and postal services). However, the decision-making processes of this entity are not independent of governmental influence. Pursuant to Sections 2 and 3 of the Presidential Decree of the Republic of Azerbaijan entitled “On Certain Measures to Improve Governance in the Field of Digitalisation, Innovation, High Technologies and Communications in the Republic of Azerbaijan”, dated 11 October 2021, ICTA was established as a public legal entity under the authority of the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport.

According to Section 4.10.2.5 of Decision No. 14/2 of 28 March 2024, approving the "Requirements for Ensuring Information Security in Entities Whose Activities Are Controlled in Financial Markets", where cloud services are used, sensitive information owned by a supervised entity must be stored solely within the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Section 2.1.9 defines “sensitive information” as information that must be protected against unauthorised processing, including access, modification, or disclosure, due to its potential adverse impact on individuals, legal entities, or national security. This includes, inter alia, sensitive payment information, personal data, state secrets, commercial secrets, banking secrets, insurance secrets, and other confidential information.
This requirement applies to a broad range of supervised entities, including banks, non-bank credit institutions, insurers, securities market licensees, investment funds and managers, the national postal operator, payment institutions, electronic money institutions, payment system operators, credit bureaus, and the central depository, among others (Sections 1.1–1.3).

According to Section 4.12.4 of Decision No. 14/2 of 28 March 2024, approving the "Requirements for Ensuring Information Security in Entities Whose Activities Are Controlled in Financial Markets", supervised entities must have two information processing centres, one main centre and one backup centre, located in non-adjacent economic regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
This requirement does not apply to all supervised entities covered by the Decision. Sections 1.4 and 1.5 exclude Category II and Category III supervised entities from Sections 4.12–4.16. Therefore, Section 4.12.4 applies only to Category I supervised entities, including banks, insurers, the central depository, the Compulsory Insurance Bureau, credit bureaus, electronic money institutions, and payment system operators (Sections 1.1–1.5).

Pursuant to Art. 14 of the Law on Personal Data, the cross-border transfer of personal data is prohibited under the following circumstances: (i) where such transfer poses a threat to the national security of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and (ii) where the legal framework of the recipient country fails to provide an adequate level of protection for personal data comparable to that afforded under Azerbaijani law. Nevertheless, the cross-border transfer of personal data may be permitted irrespective of the level of legal protection, provided that the data subject has given explicit consent or that the transfer is necessary to safeguard the life or health of the data subject.

Art. 18 of the Law on Patents stipulates that, in order to safeguard national security interests, the competent executive authority may authorise the use of a patent relating to an invention, utility model, or industrial design without the consent of the patent holder. In such circumstances, the patent holder is entitled to receive appropriate compensation. Should the patent holder dispute the amount of compensation awarded, they may challenge the decision through administrative procedures or in court.

Azerbaijan has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

Azerbaijan is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).