AI regulation in Brunei: laws & policy (2026)

Brunei launched Digital Brunei 2030, a five-year national digital transformation plan that, for the first time, embeds a dedicated Data and AI Strategy alongside digital government, society, and business strategies. Flagship AI commitments include a National Sovereign Cloud with AI computing capabilities and development of a Brunei-context National Large Language Model.

AITI released Brunei's first national AI governance framework, a voluntary, principles-based guide establishing seven core principles (transparency, data protection, security, robustness, fairness, human centricity, accountability) for organisations that design, develop, deploy, or use AI in Brunei. It is sector- and technology-agnostic, aligning with the ASEAN AI Governance and Ethics Guide.

ASEAN Digital Ministers, including Brunei's representative, adopted the Expanded ASEAN Guide on AI Governance and Ethics, extending the 2024 framework to address generative AI risks, incident reporting, and content provenance. This regional instrument directly shaped the principles adopted in Brunei's own April 2025 national guide.

Brunei gazetted its first comprehensive personal data protection law, granting individuals rights over how private-sector organisations collect, use, and disclose their data and designating AITI as the enforcement authority. The PDPO is foundational for trustworthy AI by governing AI-driven data processing; organisations were given a one-year grace period to comply.

AITI published a draft Guide on AI Governance and Ethics for public consultation, inviting feedback from government, industry, academia, and the general public. Seventeen stakeholder responses were received, and their input was incorporated into the finalised guide published in April 2025.

AITI formed a 25-member AI Governance and Ethics Working Group drawn from government, industry, and academia to draft Brunei's national AI governance guide. This was the first institutionalised multi-stakeholder body dedicated to AI policy in the country.

The Ministry of Transport and Infocommunications publicly announced its intention to develop AI guidelines, citing ethical concerns and the need to align with regional and international frameworks such as the ASEAN AI Guide. This was the first ministerial-level commitment to a formal AI regulatory process in Brunei.

ASEAN released its first Guide on AI Governance and Ethics, establishing common principles and best practices for trustworthy AI across all member states including Brunei. This regional instrument became the primary external reference framework for Brunei's subsequent national AI guide.

Brunei launched the Digital Economy Masterplan 2025 (DE2025), the national 5-year roadmap for digital transformation under Wawasan Brunei 2035, establishing the macro-policy environment for investment in emerging technologies including AI. DE2025 created the institutional impetus that led to later dedicated AI governance work and served as the predecessor framework to Digital Brunei 2030.

Brunei established AITI as the statutory national regulator for ICT under the Telecommunications Successor Company Order 2001, creating the institutional foundation that would later become the principal authority for AI governance, personal data protection, and digital policy across all of Brunei's AI regulatory milestones.