Marrakech – Eighteen African media regulatory authorities gathered in Salé on November 20-21, for an international conference organized by Morocco’s High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA). The two-day event focused on “The Right to Information in the Digital Age.”
The participating regulators adopted the Salé Declaration on the Right to Information in the Digital Age. This declaration represents a unified African response to growing disinformation challenges and digital platform governance issues.
The African Network of Communication Regulatory Authorities (RIARC) members used the conference to reaffirm shared commitments. They pledged to protect information integrity, strengthen African cooperation, and address the rise of disinformation across the continent.
The regulators committed to adapting their regulatory frameworks to technological changes. They agreed to intensify dialogue with digital platforms and consolidate RIARC’s role as an African cooperation framework for training and harmonizing regulatory practices.
The declaration calls on African governments, global digital platforms, and international organizations to take more ambitious action to ensure equitable, reliable, and sustainable access to information. According to the regulators, such access is essential for citizen participation and strengthening democratic processes.
The Salé conference featured four thematic sessions examining contemporary concerns related to information rights. Discussions centered on the proliferation of disinformation and the imbalance between global digital actors and national media ecosystems.
HACA President Latifa Akherbach addressed the core pressures facing African regulators. “Information operates in a context characterized by multiplying risks of disinformation and power imbalances between global digital actors and national media systems,” she stated. “The obligation is imposed on us, African regulators, to unite as one for African sovereignty in the face of digital challenges.”
Toward a stronger, unified African regulatory framework
RIARC is currently headed by the Ivory Coast’s media regulatory authority. This follows two years of leadership by Morocco’s HACA. The network continues to serve as a reference framework for multilateral cooperation between African regulatory authorities.
René Bougoin, president of Ivory Coast’s HACA and current RIARC president, outlined the meeting’s primary objective. He stressed exchanges that would determine a roadmap toward resilient regulation in the digital age.
RIARC focuses on consolidating a pluralistic African audiovisual landscape. The network aims to maintain fidelity to the continent’s diverse societies while respecting human rights and promoting democratic values.
The Salé Declaration builds on African and international frameworks regarding information integrity, digital platform transparency, and protection of information access rights. The document represents a coordinated African approach to digital-age media regulation hurdles.
The conference concluded with commitments from participating regulators to implement the declaration’s principles in their respective countries. The next phase will involve monitoring implementation and sharing best practices across the RIARC network.
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