Somalia Cybercrime Bill (2025)

The Somalia Cybercrime Bill is the Federal Government of Somalia's proposed dedicated cybercrime legislation. It was drafted and presented by the Ministry of Communications and Technology and approved by the Council of Ministers, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre, on 21 August 2025. As of the date of this record it is pending enactment by the Federal Parliament and is therefore not yet in force; the full text has not been published. According to the Ministry, the Bill is intended to prevent the unlawful use of computer systems and modern devices; to protect the confidentiality, security and public morality of digital systems; to safeguard the national economy and critical information infrastructure; and to establish offences, rules and penalties aligned with international and regional standards. It is expected to provide the detection, investigation and prosecution framework for cyber-dependent and cyber-enabled crime that Somalia currently lacks. The Bill sits alongside two related developments: the Communications Act 2017, which regulates the telecommunications sector and established the National Communications Authority (NCA); and a separate Cybersecurity Law approved by the House of the People of the Federal Parliament in January 2026, which establishes a national cybersecurity framework and the Somalia Computer Incident Response Team (SOM-CIRT). Given Somalia's institutional and security context, the dedicated cybercrime statute remains at bill stage and the institutional body responsible for enforcement will be determined on enactment. This record should be updated and re-verified once the Bill is passed and an official text becomes available.

1. 1Status: Cabinet-approved bill (Council of Ministers, 21 August 2025), pending enactment by the Federal Parliament; full text not yet public
2. 2Drafted and presented by the Ministry of Communications and Technology
3. 3Stated aims: prevent unlawful use of computer systems and devices and protect confidentiality, security and public morality
4. 4Stated aims: safeguard the national economy and critical information infrastructure and establish offences and penalties aligned with international and regional standards
5. 5Intended to provide a detection, investigation and prosecution framework for cybercrime
6. 6Related instruments: Communications Act 2017 (National Communications Authority) and the 2026 Cybersecurity Law establishing SOM-CIRT
7. 7Enforcing institutional body to be determined on enactment