AI regulation in Bahrain: laws & policy (2026)
AI in Bahrain: proposed.
Bahrain does not yet have a comprehensive AI law in force. A dedicated 38-article AI Regulation Bill was unanimously approved by the Shura Council in April 2024 and remains under review by the Council of Representatives' Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee, having faced government pushback that existing statutes suffice. In the meantime, AI use in the public sector is governed by the non-binding General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (issued 2025) and sector-neutral laws on data protection, cybercrime and electronic transactions, while a National AI Strategy is still in draft.
Legal framework
Draft Standalone AI Regulation Law (38 articles) pending in the Council of Representatives; interim guidance from the General Policy for the Use of AI (v1.0, 2025) and the Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 30/2018) enforced by the Personal Data Protection Authority
Key points: artificial intelligence in Bahrain
Proposed comprehensive AI law
A 38-article standalone AI Regulation Bill was unanimously approved by the Shura Council in April 2024 and referred to the Council of Representatives, where it remains under committee review; it has not yet been enacted.
Planned regulator: National Centre for AI
The draft bill would create a National Centre for Artificial Intelligence under the Ministry of Interior, tasked with licensing, enforcement, coordination with public and private bodies, and periodic risk reporting on AI systems.
General Policy for the Use of AI (2025)
The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) published the General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence v1.0 (dated 30 July 2025), setting non-binding pillars — legal compliance, adoption, awareness, and cooperation — for AI use across government entities.
Reliance on existing sectoral laws
Bahrain's government has argued the Personal Data Protection Law (Law 30/2018, enforced by the PDPA since 2022), Cybercrime Law (2014), Electronic Communications and Transactions Law (2018) and Civil Code (2001) already cover core AI-related risks such as data misuse, liability and digital safety.
Draft penalties in the pending bill
The draft law envisions criminal and administrative sanctions for AI misuse, including fines and prison terms (reports cite up to 10 years for the gravest offences, with lesser tiers of up to BD 2,000 or three years), and would bar unsupervised AI decision-making affecting rights in areas like law, health and finance.
National AI Strategy still in draft
A draft National AI Strategy has been prepared and refined via a September 2025 inter-governmental workshop; a parliamentary proposal on a National AI Strategy — including a dedicated AI Centre and investment drive — is being debated but not yet adopted.
Timeline of decisions
- Guidance · officialUNESCO publishes AI Readiness Assessment (RAM) report on Bahrain
UNESCO released its Readiness Assessment Methodology report evaluating Bahrain's institutional, regulatory and data readiness for ethical AI, making Bahrain the second GCC state assessed and benchmarking gaps against the UNESCO Recommendation on AI Ethics.
Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA)
- GuidanceNational workshop advances draft National AI Strategy
iGA convened a two-day cross-government workshop to shape Bahrain's draft National AI Strategy, with sector-specific consultations (health, education, transport, industry) to follow, signalling a coordinated national AI roadmap beyond the policy framework.
Middle East AI News
- Guidance · officialBahrain launches National AI Policy and adopts GCC AI Ethics Manual
The iGA issued Bahrain's first comprehensive, binding 'General Policy for the Use of AI', built on four pillars and 11 principles (human oversight, transparency, fairness, privacy), and formally adopted the GCC Guiding Manual on AI Ethics for government entities.
Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA)
- DecisionGovernment pushes back on standalone AI law, favouring policy + sandbox
In a written response to Parliament, the government argued existing laws (e.g. the PDPL) already cover much of the Shura Council's draft AI law and recommended a regulatory-sandbox approach over a new standalone statute, steering Bahrain toward soft-law governance.
Daily Tribune
- LawShura Council approves draft standalone AI Regulation Law (38 articles)
Bahrain's upper house unanimously passed a draft AI law of seven chapters and 38 articles proposing a dedicated AI regulator, licensing, audits, human oversight, prohibited uses, penalties and liability for AI-caused harm, a landmark legislative attempt now stalled in Parliament.
Daily Tribune
- Guidance · officialGCC issues Guiding Manual on the Ethics of AI
The Gulf Cooperation Council published a regional AI ethics manual that Bahrain later adopted as the ethical baseline for its national AI governance, anchoring its principles in a regional framework.
Kingdom of Bahrain / GCC
Sources
- iga.gov.bh/Media/Publications/National%20Digital%20Policies/General%20Policy%20f
- pdp.gov.bh/en/about-PDPA.html
- zawya.com/en/world/middle-east/new-law-to-regulate-use-of-ai-approved-in-bahrai
- newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/105401.html
- newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/109428.html
- digital.nemko.com/regulations/ai-regulation-bahrain
- startupbahrain.com/blog/bahrain-sets-national-ai-policy-to-guide-responsible-use-and-pub
- newsofbahrain.com/business/121554.html
- mia.gov.bh/harnessing-ai-for-smarter-governance-a-strategic-outlook/?lang=en
Next for Bahrain: Data & PrivacyComprehensive law
Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 29 Jul 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026