Abstract: The object of the study is the media of Afghanistan. The subject of the study is the genesis of methods for regulating the media system in Afghanistan. The article pays special attention to the formation of the media system of the modern period, which the authors have been defining since the end of 2021. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the media system of Afghanistan has been formed under the influence of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF, acted in accordance with resolution No. 1386[39] The UN Security Council of December 20, 2001) and the desire to create a liberal democratic state in the understanding of the ISAF leadership. Freedom of speech, expression and the media, which were achieved during this period, has been under the control of the Interim Government of Afghanistan since August 2021. This article defines the methods used by the current government of Afghanistan to regulate the media system.   The main method of research is the content analysis of documents and information on the practice of law enforcement, compliance with current legislation. Naturally, he could not be divorced from the method of systematization of information - the study of information objects. For the first time in the scientific literature, an empirical study is presented, which represents important material on the history of the media system of Afghanistan, its current state, and the analysis of legislative changes. The study seems to be significant and expands knowledge about the media in this region. For 20 years, the media system of Afghanistan has been formed under the influence of an international coalition led by the United States, which tried to create a liberal democratic state. It was based on a compromise of Western "democratic" and Islamic values, more pluralistic and free than before and after this period. In August 2021, another political force came to power, forming a state based on other principles, which began to exercise control over all spheres, including the media, taking Sharia norms as a basis. One of the conclusions of the study was the strengthening of the traditional identity of the state by the new political power, which was "shaken" by Western reforms.
After coming to power, the interim Government of Afghanistan repealed the 2004 Constitution and the 2009 Media Law. The Law on Access to Information in 2019 has not been officially repealed, but it is not respected in the country. Thus, the transformation of the state's media system has begun in the country.