Intermediary Liability in Africa: Looking Back, Moving Forward?
G. Frosio (ed.) Oxford Handbook on Intermediary Liability (OUP 2020)
42 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2019
Date Written: November 16, 2019
Abstract
This chapter reviews key intermediary liability developments in the African region to document a trend of progressive diffusion of intermediary liability protections. At the same time, the chapter highlights a parallel trend of increasing pressure on intermediaries to fulfil broad and open-ended public policy mandates. This generates a serious risk of compromising the value of intermediary protections, creating an uncertain terrain for a wide range of actors, and potentially affecting both technological progress and the creation of local content in one of the most underdeveloped regions of the world. To avert those consequences, this chapter reflects on the potential offered by the African Union in driving harmonization in the field, highlighting the advantages of the first and arguably most sophisticated model of intermediary protections in the region: the South African Electronic Communications Act.
Keywords: Africa, intermediary liability, South Africa, Ghana, Zambia, Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, interstate cooperation
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