Online safety & content laws in Guinea (2026)

Law L/2016/037/AN (28 July 2016) is Guinea's primary digital legislation, covering cybercrime offences (Part 1) and personal data protection (Part 2). It created the CNDP data-protection commission and mandated an ANSSI cybersecurity agency but contains no platform-liability, content-moderation, or online-safety obligations.

Guinea has imposed multiple government-ordered internet shutdowns: during the March 2020 constitutional referendum and October 2020 presidential elections, again in 2023–24 (social-media platforms blocked November 2023–February 2024), and further restrictions were recorded in 2025 in the context of political unrest.

WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube have been blocked by the state during periods of civil unrest. Signal has been intermittently blocked since May 2023. NetBlocks documented these disruptions in real time.

The ECOWAS Court of Justice ruled in 2023 that Guinea's 2020 internet shutdowns violated the right to freedom of expression under the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and ordered Guinea to adopt laws and safeguards to prevent recurrence. Guinea has not demonstrably complied, with subsequent shutdowns continuing.

Guinea has no enacted or formally proposed law equivalent to the EU Digital Services Act or the UK Online Safety Act. There are no age-verification requirements, algorithmic-transparency obligations, or platform liability rules in force. The 2025 Freedom House report records Guinea's broader civic space as severely restricted under military rule.

Since the September 2021 coup by the Special Forces Group (GFS/CNRD), Guinea's transitional authorities have used internet and social-media restrictions as tools to suppress dissent, with a blanket demonstration ban since 2022. This political context drives internet restrictions in lieu of any formal regulatory framework.