Loi n° 2013-451 du 19 juin 2013 relative à la lutte contre la cybercriminalité (Law on Combating Cybercrime) (Côte d'Ivoire)

Côte d'Ivoire's Law No. 2013-451 of 19 June 2013 on combating cybercrime is the country's principal cybercrime statute. It was enacted on the same day as Law No. 2013-450 on the protection of personal data, as part of a coordinated package of digital-economy legislation that also addressed electronic transactions and telecommunications. The law criminalises offences against information systems and computer data and equips investigators and prosecutors with corresponding procedural powers. On the substantive side, the law defines and punishes infractions linked to information systems: fraudulent access to, and remaining within, an information system; interference with the proper functioning of a system; fraudulent input, alteration or deletion of computer data; computer-related forgery and computer-related fraud; and the fraudulent interception of computer data. It also captures content offences, including child pornography and certain unlawful online communications and publications. Penalties scale according to gravity, ranging from a few months to several years' imprisonment together with fines that can reach several million CFA francs. Procedurally, the statute provides for investigative measures adapted to the digital environment, including the preservation and production of computer data, the search and seizure of computer systems and storage media, and the interception of electronic communications, enabling the collection and preservation of electronic evidence. Institutional enforcement is led by specialised structures. The Plateforme de Lutte Contre la Cybercriminalité (PLCC), a joint operational body associating the national police and the telecommunications/ICT regulator ARTCI, handles complaints, investigation and digital forensics, while ANSSI Côte d'Ivoire is responsible for national cybersecurity and the CIRT. ARTCI also exercises regulatory functions over electronic communications. The cybercrime law operates in tandem with the 2013 data protection law and subsequent implementing texts, giving Côte d'Ivoire one of the more developed cyber-law frameworks in francophone West Africa. Source language: French.

1. 1Côte d'Ivoire's principal cybercrime statute, enacted alongside Law No. 2013-450 on personal data protection as part of a coordinated digital-law package
2. 2Offences against information systems: fraudulent access and remaining within systems; interference with system functioning; fraudulent input, alteration or deletion of computer data
3. 3Computer-related forgery and fraud and fraudulent interception of computer data
4. 4Content offences including child pornography and certain unlawful online communications
5. 5Penalties scaling from several months to several years' imprisonment plus fines up to several million CFA francs according to gravity
6. 6Procedural powers: preservation and production of data, search and seizure of computer systems, and interception of electronic communications
7. 7Enforced through the Plateforme de Lutte Contre la Cybercriminalité (PLCC) with ARTCI and ANSSI Côte d'Ivoire; operates with the 2013 data protection law