African Union Legal Instrument
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The absence of specific legal rules that protect consumers, intellectual
property rights, personal data and information systems;
The absence of e-services and telecommuting legislations;
The application of electronic techniques to commercial and administrative
acts;
The probative elements introduced by digital techniques (time stamping,
certification, etc.);
The rules applicable to cryptology devices and services;
The oversight of on-line advertising;
The absence of appropriate fiscal and customs legislations for electronic
commerce;
Convinced that the afore-listed observations justify the call for the establishment of an
appropriate normative framework consistent with the African legal, cultural, economic
and social environment; and that the objective of this Convention is therefore to provide
the necessary security and legal framework for the emergence of the knowledge
economy in Africa;
Stressing that at another level, the protection of personal data and private life
constitutes a major challenge to the Information Society for governments as well as
other stakeholders; and that such protection requires a balance between the use of
information and communication technologies and the protection of the privacy of citizens
in their daily or professional lives, while guaranteeing the free flow of information;
Concerned by the urgent need to establish a mechanism to address the dangers and
risks deriving from the use of electronic data and individual records, with a view to
respecting privacy and freedoms while enhancing the promotion and development of
ICTs in Member States of the African Union;
Considering that the goal of this Convention is to address the need for harmonized
legislation in the area of cyber security in Member States of the African Union, and to
establish in each State party a mechanism capable of combating violations of privacy
that may be generated by personal data collection, processing, transmission, storage
and use; that by proposing a type of institutional basis, the Convention guarantees that
whatever form of processing is used shall respect the basic freedoms and rights of
individuals while also taking into account the prerogatives of States, the rights of local
communities and the interests of businesses; and take on board internationally
recognized best practices;
Considering that the protection under criminal law of the system of values of the
information society is a necessity prompted by security considerations; that is reflected
primarily by the need for appropriate criminal legislation in the fight against cybercrime in
general, and money laundering in particular;
Aware of the need, given the current state of cybercrime which constitutes a real threat
to the security of computer networks and the development of the Information Society in
Africa, to define broad guidelines of the strategy for the repression of cybercrime in