Internet & Online Safety · DR Congo
Online safety & content laws in DR Congo (2026)
DR Congo shaded by its internet & online safety status
The Democratic Republic of Congo has enacted a broad Digital Code in 2023 that covers cybercrime, online content offences (including criminalising false information and press offences on social networks), platform takedown obligations, and mandatory traffic-data retention for security agencies. There is no standalone comprehensive online safety law equivalent to the EU DSA or UK Online Safety Act; platform regulation is fragmented across the Digital Code, telecom legislation, and a March 2026 ministerial order introducing licensing rules for digital services. The government has also demonstrated a willingness to impose episodic internet shutdowns and social-media blocks during political or security crises, most recently in January–February 2025 during the eastern-DRC conflict.
Key points
Ordonnance-Loi No. 23/010 of 13 March 2023 establishes the main digital regulatory framework, criminalising online disinformation (Article 360, up to 6 months' imprisonment), mandating content filters for network providers, setting takedown procedures, and regulating electronic commerce, electronic signatures, data protection, and cybersecurity in a single instrument.
A ministerial order signed on 11 March 2026 under the Digital Code requires data-centre operators, qualified trust-service providers, application-hosting services, and larger digital platforms to obtain authorisation from ARPTIC; operators have until 30 June 2026 to comply, with full enforcement from 1 July 2026.
Decree No. 23/13 of 3 March 2023 created the Autorité de Régulation des Postes, Télécommunications et des Technologies de l'Information et de la Communication (ARPTIC) to replace ARPTC, with an expanded mandate that includes oversight of data protection, traffic monitoring, and digital-services licensing.
In January–February 2025, the government blocked social-media platforms (X, TikTok) and VPNs and disrupted internet connectivity in Goma during the M23 military escalation, citing the need to counter disinformation; the Internet Society Pulse documented the outage, and NetBlocks estimated daily economic losses exceeding $3 million. The DRC has a documented history of election-related shutdowns since at least 2018.
Ordinance-Law No. 23/009 of 13 March 2023 (companion press law to the Digital Code) extends traditional press offences—defamation, incitement, relay of false information—to social networks and digital channels, exposing users and content sharers to criminal liability for online speech acts.
On 27 June 2025 the DRC became the 19th AU member state to ratify the African Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection (Malabo Convention), adding international obligations on cybersecurity, cybercrime, electronic transactions, and personal-data protection to the domestic legal framework.
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