Artificial Intelligence · Bahrain
AI regulation in Bahrain (2026)
Bahrain shaded by its artificial intelligence status
Bahrain has no comprehensive AI statute in force yet. A standalone 38-article AI Regulation Law was unanimously approved by the Shura Council in April 2024 but remains stalled in the Council of Representatives, with the government formally objecting that existing laws already cover its aims and proposing a regulatory-sandbox approach instead. In the meantime, governance rests on a binding public-sector AI policy (effective 20 May 2025), the adopted GCC AI Ethics Guiding Manual, and sectoral measures such as the Central Bank's FinTech sandbox.
Key points
A standalone 38-article AI Regulation Law was unanimously approved by the Shura Council in April 2024 and seeks to regulate development and deployment of AI systems, create an AI oversight unit, and set licensing, civil liability and administrative penalties. It remains under review in the Council of Representatives and is not yet enacted.
In a written letter to Parliament the government argued existing laws already address many of the bill's aims and that its scope is too narrow (applying only to entities based in Bahrain, unlike the extraterritorial Personal Data Protection Law), proposing a 'regulatory sandbox' for safe AI testing as a more practical alternative.
The Information & eGovernment Authority issued the General Policy for the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Version 1.0), approved 20 May 2025, mandatory for all government entities. It is built on four pillars: policies/legislation compliance, AI adoption and use, awareness and education, and local/international cooperation.
Alongside the national policy, Bahrain adopted the GCC Guiding Manual on the Ethical Use of AI, a regional non-binding code intended to steer responsible and ethical AI deployment across government and the wider economy.
Public-sector AI use must comply with Bahrain's existing legal framework, including the Personal Data Protection Law, the Law on Protection of State Documents and Information, the Open Data Policy, and the GCC AI Ethics guideline.
The Central Bank of Bahrain operates a regulatory sandbox allowing supervised experimentation of AI-driven FinTech solutions, and a draft National AI Strategy reached advanced development with a cross-government national workshop held on 9–10 September 2025.
Timeline - major decisions & events
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) ↗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 ↗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) ↗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 ↗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 ↗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 ↗The PDPL became effective one year after publication, establishing Bahrain's binding data-protection regime — the legal backbone the government now cites as already governing much AI-driven data processing.
Personal Data Protection Authority ↗Bahrain promulgated its first comprehensive data-protection law, creating obligations on data processing, consent and a supervisory authority — the foundational instrument that underpins current AI regulation by default.
Ministry of Justice / Legislation Portal ↗The CBB introduced a regulatory sandbox letting licensed and unlicensed firms test technology-driven solutions (including AI-based FinTech) under supervision — the supervised-experimentation model the government now proposes extending as Bahrain's preferred approach to AI oversight.
Central Bank of Bahrain ↗Bahrain - other topics
Last verified 5/23/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →