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Online safety & content laws in Burkina Faso (2026)

Online safety rules in Burkina Faso: heavy restriction.

Burkina Faso's military junta (in power since September 2022) actively restricts online expression through internet shutdowns, social media blocks, and bans on foreign media outlets, making state censorship the defining feature of the online environment. The country has adopted a cybersecurity law in 2024 (Law 014-2024) and has a cybercrime framework dating to 2017, but there is no comprehensive platform-liability or online-safety regime equivalent to the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act. Age-verification and content-moderation obligations on platforms are absent from existing legislation.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Burkina Faso with other countries

Legal framework

Law n°014-2024 on Information Systems Security (ANSSI); Law n°040-2017/AN on cybercrime suppression; Law n°010-2004 on Personal Data Protection (CIL); Superior Council for Communication (CSC) as media regulator

Key points: internet & online safety in Burkina Faso

  1. Internet shutdowns & social media blocks

    The junta has imposed repeated internet shutdowns and blocked Facebook citing 'national security.' By 2024 Burkina Faso was counted among roughly 70 countries globally that have restricted social media access, with Access Now and Internet Society Pulse documenting multiple disruption events since 2021.

    accessnow.org pulse.internetsociety.org blog.cloudflare.com

  2. Foreign media bans

    As of April 2024, the transitional authorities had banned 13 international outlets (including France 24, Le Monde, Libération, and nine news websites blocked in a single 48-hour period after coverage of a Human Rights Watch report), with RSF documenting systematic blocking at ISP level.

    rsf.org mediafreedomcoalition.org

  3. Cybersecurity Law 014-2024

    The Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) unanimously adopted Law n°014-2024 on 9 July 2024, creating a legal framework for protecting public and private information systems and reinforcing the mandate of ANSSI. An implementing decree was adopted in March 2025. The law does not establish content-moderation duties for online platforms.

    ecofinagency.com digitalmagazine.bf mdenp.gov.bf

  4. Cybercrime investigative powers (Law 040-2017)

    Law n°040-2017/AN of 29 June 2017 introduced special cybercrime investigative techniques including telecommunications interception, pseudonymous investigations, and computer-data capture. It does not impose obligations on platforms but gives authorities broad surveillance powers online, consistent with the Council of Europe GLACY+ programme.

    coe.int coe.int

  5. Data protection & CIL

    Law n°010-2004 of 20 April 2004 on personal data protection established the Commission de l'Informatique et des Libertés (CIL) as the independent supervisory authority. The law is under government review for alignment with AU Convention 108+ standards; a revised text had not been enacted as of mid-2025.

    dlapiperdataprotection.com dataguidance.com

  6. Media regulator overhaul & self-censorship

    A November 2023 law restructured the Superior Council for Communication (CSC), increasing executive influence over broadcast licensing and content oversight. RSF flagged the reform as undermining press independence; journalists report widespread self-censorship, and the CSC has issued directives prohibiting publication of security-related information or criticism of the head of state.

    rsf.org uproar.fyi aira.africa

Sources

  1. accessnow.org/press-release/burkina-faso-internet-shutdown/
  2. pulse.internetsociety.org/en/shutdowns/second-shutdown-in-a-month-in-burkina-faso/
  3. rsf.org/en/burkina-faso-blocks-access-nine-more-news-sites-bringing-banned-me
  4. mediafreedomcoalition.org/joint-statement/2024/burkina-faso/
  5. ecofinagency.com/telecom/2811-45087-burkina-faso-advances-cybersecurity-with-new-infor
  6. mdenp.gov.bf/fileadmin/user_upload/storages/documents/administratifs/loi_014_syste
  7. digitalmagazine.bf/2024/07/17/cybersecurite-au-burkina-faso-une-nouvelle-loi-pour-renfor
  8. coe.int/en/web/octopus/-/burkina-faso
  9. dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=law&c=BF
  10. rsf.org/en/alarming-overhaul-burkina-faso-s-media-regulator
  11. aira.africa/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/The-African-Internet-Rights-Alliance-_-Alt
  12. blog.cloudflare.com/burkina-faso-internet-shutdown/
  13. coe.int/en/web/cybercrime/glacyplusactivities/-/asset_publisher/DD9qKA5QlKhC/
  14. dataguidance.com/jurisdictions/burkina-faso
  15. uproar.fyi/blog/article/the-44th-session-of-the-universal-periodic-review-digita

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026