Artificial Intelligence · Central African Republic
AI regulation in Central African Republic (2026)
Central African Republic shaded by its artificial intelligence status
The Central African Republic has no national AI legislation, strategy, or voluntary guidelines. Its digital regulatory framework is limited to basic telecommunications laws from 2017–2018, a data protection law enacted in January 2024, and a 2018 national digitisation plan ('Centrafrique Numérique') focused on public-sector ICT — none of which specifically address AI governance. As an African Union member state, CAR is nominally covered by the AU Continental AI Strategy (2024), but has not translated this into any domestic AI policy.
Key points
CAR has enacted no dedicated AI legislation, no national AI strategy, and no sector-specific AI rules. The Paradigm Initiative's digital rights assessment for CAR confirms the complete absence of any AI regulatory framework in the country.
The primary digital laws are Law 17.020 (19 May 2017) establishing ARCEP as the electronic communications and postal regulator, Law 17.009 (21 Feb 2017) on postal activities, and Law 18.002 (17 Jan 2018) regulating electronic communications — none of which address AI.
Loi 24/001 (January 2024) introduced a comprehensive personal data protection framework, including rights of access, rectification, erasure, and a right not to be subject to automated decision-making. It is the closest instrument to AI-relevant regulation, but it is not an AI law.
The government adopted the 'Centrafrique Numérique' national strategic plan in 2018 to guide public-sector digitisation and telecommunications infrastructure development. It does not contain AI-specific objectives or governance measures.
As a member state of the African Union, CAR is covered by the AU Continental AI Strategy endorsed in June 2024, which calls for national AI strategies and governance frameworks across all 55 member states. CAR has not yet acted on this call domestically.
ARCEP, the sole digital regulator, has limited enforcement capacity and resources, and no dedicated supervisory authority under the 2024 data protection law has yet been fully operationalised — making effective AI oversight infrastructurally unfeasible at present.
Central African Republic - other topics
Last verified 5/24/2026 · Orientation, not legal advice - verify against the primary sources linked above. Explore the full world map →