Digital Rights at a Glance
In Togo, digital rights are supported by a relatively advanced legal and institutional framework, but their protection and effective implementation still need to be strengthened, particularly with regard to data protection, cybersecurity, freedom of expression, and online civic participation.
Key Commitments
Malabo Convention 🟢
Togo ratified the Malabo Convention in 2021.
Budapest Convention 🔴
Togo is not a party to the Budapest Convention
Data Protection Law
Law No. 2019-014 of October 29, 2019, on the protection of personal data governs the collection and processing of personal data. It ensures that the processing of personal data does not infringe upon the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals.
Existence of a Data Protection Authority 🟢
The Institute for the Protection of Personal Data (IPDCP) was established by the 2019 law. The agency began operating in 2024 and officially launched its activities in March 2025, notably through initiatives to raise awareness among citizens and organisations about their rights and obligations regarding personal data.
Cybercrime Law
Law No. 2018-026 of December 7, 2018, on cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime, provides for measures aimed at preventing and countering digital threats, protect information systems and critical infrastructure, and criminalize acts such as unauthorized access, illegal interception, and interference with data and systems, as well as cyberbullying and other computer-related offenses. This law also established the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANCy).
State of Play
Togo has made significant progress in building its digital governance framework. The adoption of the Personal Data Protection Act in 2019, the creation of the National Cybersecurity Agency (ANCy) and the Personal Data Protection Authority (IPDCP), as well as the establishment of mechanisms to respond to cyber incidents, have gradually strengthened the national cybersecurity and data protection architecture. This development marks the gradual transition from a primarily formal legal framework to an institutional system designed to exercise genuine oversight and provide avenues for redress. The 2024–2028 National Cybersecurity Strategy further confirms that cybersecurity is now a national priority.
However, several challenges remain. The first concerns the effectiveness of digital rights: the existence of a legal framework does not yet guarantee sufficiently visible and accessible protection of privacy, personal data, and online freedoms. The second challenge concerns the balance between cybersecurity and fundamental freedoms. Restrictions on the digital civic space, especially disruptions to internet access and restrictions on online expression persist. Finally, the challenge now is to shift from an approach focused primarily on institutions and security to one that is truly citizen-centered: strengthening the capacities of judicial and administrative authorities, improving complaint and appeal mechanisms, raising public awareness, and involving civil society, the media, the private sector, and communities in digital policies.
Recommendations
1. Make the effective protection of personal data a priority for public governance: by strengthening the IPDCP’s human and financial resources and ensuring its effective autonomy, with a particular focus on biometric systems, video surveillance, public platforms, and digital services that process sensitive data.
2. Explicitly incorporate human rights into the implementation of cybersecurity: any measure involving surveillance, data collection, content restriction, or limitation of Internet access must be subject to the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, transparency, and independent oversight.
3. Establish a national, multi-stakeholder mechanism to monitor the Malabo Convention: create a framework bringing together government authorities, IPDCP, ANCy, the judiciary, telecom operators, the private sector, universities, the media, and civil society organisations to monitor the Convention’s implementation, identify gaps, and periodically publish a report on the state of digital rights in Togo. This mechanism could also strengthen public awareness, training for judicial actors, and regional cooperation in this area.
Digitalise Youth partners who contributed to this section:
Clinique d’Expertise Juridique et Sociale, Togo
