Burkina Faso: Adoption of the bill on the reform of the Higher Council for Communication
Burkina Faso has achieved a significant milestone with the adoption of the organic law on the attribution, composition, organization, and functioning of the Superior Council of Communication (CSC). This decision was made during the plenary session of the Transitional Legislative Assembly (ALT) on Tuesday, November 21, 2023.
Following this adoption, the Minister of Communication, Jean Emmanuel Ouédraogo, expressed gratitude to the ALT deputies.
He emphasized that the government’s intention was to equip the CSC with the necessary capacities and resources to fulfil its mission, especially in the current context of counterterrorism and the quest for sovereignty.
«The main concern was to have a regulatory body that meets the challenges of the moment and, above all, an institution that is stable and no longer subject to repeated crises», he added.
Members of the ALT’s Commission on Institutional General Affairs and Human Rights (CAGIDH) had previously heard a government delegation, represented by the Minister of Communication, Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo.
The report of this hearing, presented during the plenary session by deputies Salif Yada and Adama Yasser Ouédraogo, members of the CAGIDH, highlighted the government’s willingness to address the crises faced by the CSC’s council since 2014.
Specifically, the rule of direct appointment of the CSC president by the President of Burkina Faso, replacing the election by the councilors, was mentioned to ensure the stability of the institution.
«The appointment of the CSC president by the Head of State does not compromise the independence of the institution. Indeed, the CSC is not limited to its president, whose room for maneuver is very limited given the collegial nature of regulatory decisions», explained Jean-Emmanuel Ouédraogo to the members of the CAGIDH.
The bill, consisting of 67 articles divided into 9 chapters, also envisages expanding the scope of the CSC to regulate social networks, with particular attention to pages with at least 5,000 followers.
A convention between the CSC and social media platforms, such as Facebook, is contemplated.
The government seeks to strengthen its control over the content circulating on these platforms while respecting privacy policies.
In case of content breaches made available to the Burkinabe public, the CSC could ask the relevant platforms to improve their self-regulation policy through filtering or instruct technical service providers (Internet service providers and hosts) to block or restrict access to these illicit contents.
Regarding sanctions, the CSC will have the power to restrict access to pages in violation pending judicial intervention.
The next step will be the promulgation of the bill by the Head of State, officially confirming its adoption by Parliament and its entry into force.
Olivier TOE
