Database

Browse Database

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2008

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Indicator User identity requirement
Law No. 061-2008/AN on the General Regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services (Loi No. 061-2008/AN portant réglementation générale des réseaux et services de communications électroniques au Burkina Faso)
According to Art. 40 of Law No. 61-2008/AN, purchasers of SIM cards must register their names and national identity numbers with telecommunications operators.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

BURKINA FASO

Reported in 2024

Pillar Content access  |  Indicator Blocking or filtering of commercial web content
Blocking of commercial web content
On 25 April 2024, the Superior Council of Communication (CSC), Burkina Faso’s media regulatory authority, reportedly instructed internet service providers to block access to the websites of BBC Africa and Voice of America. On 27 April, these restrictions were expanded to include TV5Monde’s news site, the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle, the British newspaper The Guardian, the French newspapers Ouest-France and Le Monde, as well as the news agencies Agence de Presse Africaine and Ecofin.
Coverage BBC Africa, Voice of America, TV5Monde, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian, Ouest-France, Le Monde, Agence de Presse Africaine, and Ecofin

BURKINA FASO

Reported in 2025

Pillar Content access  |  Indicator Presence of Internet shutdowns
Presence of Internet shutdowns
It has been reported that the government intermittently restricted domestic internet access throughout 2022 and 2024, invoking Art. 45 of Law No. 061-2008/AN on the General Regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services, promulgated in November 2008. According to Art. 45 of the law, telecom operators are mandated to implement all necessary measures to fulfil defence and security requirements.
These internet shutdowns are further corroborated by data from the V-Dem Dataset. The indicator "7.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 2 in Burkina Faso for the year 2024. This corresponds to "The government shut down domestic access to the Internet several times this year."
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

Since October 2001
Since November 2015

Pillar Content access  |  Indicator Restrictions on online advertising
Law No. 025-2001/AN of 25 October 2001 Concerning the Code of Advertising (Loi No. 025-2001/AN du 25 octobre 2001 portant Code de la Publicité)

Law No. 80-2015/CNT Regulating Advertising in Burkina Faso (Loi No. 80-2015/CNT portant réglementation de la publicité au Burkina Faso)
According to Art. 19 of the Code of Advertising, any foreign consultancy wishing to operate in Burkina Faso and any medium to be disseminated or distributed in Burkina Faso must, subject to reciprocity, use the services of a Burkina Faso advertising agency.
In addition, Art. 16 of Law No. 80-2015/CNT stipulates that in the field of advertising, any consulting agency governed by foreign law wishing to operate in Burkina Faso, as well as any medium to be broadcasted or distributed on Burkina Faso territory, must use the services of an advertising agency governed by Burkina Faso law, subject to reciprocity.
Coverage Advertising sector

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2015

Pillar Content access  |  Indicator Restrictions on online advertising
Law No. 80-2015/CNT Regulating Advertising in Burkina Faso (Loi No. 80-2015/CNT portant réglementation de la publicité au Burkina Faso)
Art. 15 of Law No. 80-2015/CNT stipulates that to engage in the advertising profession, individuals must be registered in the trade register and possess a unique financial identification number (IFU).
Coverage Advertising sector

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2008

Pillar Quantitative trade restrictions for ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Other import restrictions, including non-transparent/discriminatory import procedures
Law No. 061-2008/AN on the General Regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services (Loi No. 061-2008/AN portant réglementation générale des réseaux et services de communications électroniques au Burkina Faso)
According to Art. 130 of Law No. 061-2008/AN, no radio equipment used for the transmission, reception or transmission and reception of signals and correspondence may be imported for use in Burkina Faso unless it has been approved by the Regulatory Authority. To this end, the Authority may carry out any verification to ensure that the equipment complies with the regulations in force.
Coverage Telecom and radio equipment

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2008

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Self-certification for product safety
Law No. 061-2008/AN on the General Regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services (Loi No. 061-2008/AN portant réglementation générale des réseaux et services de communications électroniques au Burkina Faso)
Telecom companies need to submit their equipment for testing to the regulator or its delegated entity. Under Art. 130 of Law No. 061-2008/AN, no radio equipment used for the transmission, reception or transmission and reception of signals and correspondence may be manufactured, imported or marketed for use in Burkina Faso unless it has been approved by the Regulatory Authority. To this end, the Authority may carry out any verification to ensure that the equipment complies with the regulations in force. Equipment includes hardware and software used to provide electronic communications services.
Coverage Telecom and radio equipment

BURKINA FASO

Since March 2021

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Ban to transfer and local processing requirement
Law No. 001-2021/AN Protecting People with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Loi No. 001-2021/AN portant protection des personnes à l'égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel)
According to the Art. 42 of Law No. 001-2021/AN, international transfers cannot be made without the respect of the following conditions:
- a request for authorisation of the Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (Commission de l'Informatique et des Libertés, CIL));
- a signature of a data confidentiality clause and a data reversibility clause to facilitate the complete migration of the data at the end of the contract;
- the implementation of technical and organizational security measures.
Additionally, the transfer can only be made to a foreign country or an international organization if the recipient country or international organization ensures an adequate level of protection equal to the one ensured in Burkina Faso.
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

Since March 2021

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Ban to transfer and local processing requirement
Law No. 001-2021/AN Protecting People with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Loi No. 001-2021/AN portant protection des personnes à l'égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel)
According to the Art. 37 of Law No. 001-2021/AN, health data allowing the direct or indirect identification of individuals must be stored on national territory. An exception can be granted if the Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (Commission de l'Informatique et des Libertés, CIL) ensures that the use of information and communication technologies for the purpose of processing personal data does not pose a threat to individual or public freedoms and privacy (Art. 56).
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

N/A

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Participation in trade agreements committing to open cross-border data flows
Lack of participation in agreements with binding commitments on data flows
Burkina Faso has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

Since March 2021

Pillar Domestic data policies  |  Indicator Framework for data protection
Law No. 001-2021/AN Protecting People with Regard to the Processing of Personal Data (Loi No. 001-2021/AN portant protection des personnes à l'égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel)
Law No. 001-2021/AN provides a comprehensive data protection regime in Burkina Faso. The 2021 Act repealed and replaced Law No. 010-2004/AN on the Protection of Personal Data, enacted in 2004, which made Burkina Faso one of the first adopters of a modern data protection law in the region. The 2021 Act strengthens the protection of the privacy of individuals, including by broadening its geographical scope to offshore data controllers who carry out processing operations from Burkina Faso (irrespective of whether they use local means of processing), by supervising transborder transfers and by providing a more comprehensive right to be informed.
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2009

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Indicator Safe harbour for intermediaries for copyright infringement
Law No. 45-2009/AN Regulating Services and Electronic Transactions in Burkina Faso (Loi No. 45-2009 portant règlementation des services et des transactions électroniques au Burkina Faso)
Law No. 45-2009/AN establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 134, intermediaries are not responsible for information transmitted if they do not initiate the transmission or select the recipient of the transmission and do not select or modify the information transmitted.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

BURKINA FASO

N/A

Pillar Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)  |  Indicator Effective protection covering trade secrets
Lack of comprehensive trade secret regime
Burkina Faso does not have a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. In particular, the country has established provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement, which has been ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Burkina Faso in 2002.
Coverage Horizontal

BURKINA FASO

Since November 2008

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Passive infrastructure sharing obligation
Law No. 061-2008/AN on the General Regulation of Electronic Communications Networks and Services (Loi No. 061-2008/AN portant réglementation générale des réseaux et services de communications électroniques au Burkina Faso)
Arts. 5.k, 74.f, 144 and 145 of the Law No. 061-2008/AN impose an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing to deliver telecom services to end users. Moreover, passive infrastructure sharing is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

BURKINA FASO

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom companies
Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom companies
The government owns 28.6% of the shares of Moov Africa Burkina.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

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