Artificial Intelligence - Somalia

Somalia has not enacted or formally tabled any AI-specific statute or regulation, and no comprehensive national AI strategy document has been published; efforts remain at the institutional and assessment stage.

SNAIC operates under the Ministry of Communications and Technology, leading AI research, education, and adoption (Somali NLP, agriculture, health, education). It is a promotional/coordination body, not a regulator, and issues no binding rules.

UNESCO is supporting an AI Readiness Assessment Methodology (RAM) report to inform an ethical AI governance framework using its 2021 Recommendation as a blueprint; Somalia's assessment is at the inception stage (vs. completed for Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Mauritius).

Law No. 005 of 2023, effective 23 March 2023, established the Somalia Data Protection Authority (launched Feb 2024) and governs personal-data processing, including automated/online monitoring — relevant to AI but not AI-specific.

On 4 September 2025 Somalia and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to cooperate on regulating and developing AI and space technology, covering knowledge exchange and future policy formulation — a cooperation framework, not domestic law.

Somalia's AI governance position is being shaped through SNAIC's responsible-AI goals and the UNESCO-supported report, but no adopted strategy, voluntary guidelines, or bans on specific AI uses are currently in force.