Online safety & content laws in Gambia (2026)

The ICA 2009 is the primary instrument governing online content. Section 170 penalises 'obscene' online information with up to five years' imprisonment; 2013 amendments extended related penalties to up to 15 years, raising significant freedom-of-expression concerns documented by ARTICLE 19.

Article 138 of the ICA grants national security agencies and PURA broad authority to monitor, intercept, and store communications without judicial oversight, a provision criticised by Freedom House and ARTICLE 19 as incompatible with international human-rights standards.

Introduced at first reading in the National Assembly in March 2024, the Bill would criminalise broad speech categories (including 'false news'), grant law enforcement sweeping preservation, wiretapping, and compelled-decryption powers, and penalise possession of encryption tools. As of 2025 it remains in committee and has not been enacted.

Signed into law on 7 November 2025, this is Gambia's first comprehensive data-protection statute. It establishes the National Data Protection Commission as the independent enforcement authority with powers to investigate, issue binding notices, and impose fines up to 4% of global annual turnover for serious violations.

The Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy adopted a National Cybersecurity Policy for 2022–2026 covering governance, capacity-building, and international cooperation. It is a policy framework, not binding legislation, and does not itself impose platform-safety obligations.

Gambia has no age-verification requirements for online platforms and no platform-liability framework analogous to the EU DSA. Freedom House's Freedom on the Net 2025 report confirms that arrests of internet users criticising the president have increased under President Barrow, underscoring enforcement gaps in existing rules.