Regulating New Media in Africa: Politics, Law and Governance
Intellect (2026), xxviii, 241 pp.
"Drawing on a Global South perspective, 'Regulating New Media in Africa' offers valuable contributions to broader debates on media regulation, sovereignty, and internet governance. As one of the few books focused exclusively on the governance of new media across the African continent, it offers a timely and critical engagement with the legal and policy frameworks shaping digital broadcasting, social media, and the broader digital ecosystem. Drawing on in-depth case studies by African scholars across a wide range of countries and political systems, as well as interviews with professionals involved in shaping or contesting regulatory outcomes, it reveals key trends, contradictions, and policy dilemmas in new media regulation. This study highlights how governments are responding to challenges such as internet shutdowns, online harms, data governance.." (Publisher description)
Introduction / Vincent Obia and Sulayman Bah
PART 1: REGULATORY TRENDS AND THE RESEARCH LANDSCAPE
1 Regulating Digital Technologies in Africa: Navigating a Shifting Tech Landscape / Hayes Mawindi Mabwezara
2 Human Rights, Freedom of Expression, and Multi-Stakeholderism in the Regulation of New Media Technologies in Africa – Interview with Guilherme Canela / Vincent Obia
3 Mapping A Research Agenda for Digital Media Regulation in Africa: A Systematic Analysis / Vincent Obia
PART 2: STATE POLICY APPROACHES AND REGULATORY CHALLENGES
4 Cyber Security Laws, Digital Media Spaces and Media Freedoms in Zambia / Youngson Ndawana, Joanne Knowles, and Elastus Mambwe
5 Morocco’s Approach to Digital Media Regulation: State Policy, Power Asymmetry, Platform Dialogue – Interview with Latifa Akharbach / Yemisi Akinbobola
6 Regime Change? Digitalisation, Media Convergence and the Constraints to Reforming Ghana’s Analogue Era Regulatory System / Kobina Bedu-Addo
7 Broadcast Media Regulation and Democratic Transitions in Africa: A Nigerian and South African Case Study / Yemisi Akinbobola, Vincent Obia, and Trust Matsilele
PART 3: DIGITAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP: FRICTIONS, TENSIONS, REACTIONS
8 Balancing Freedom with Responsibility or Simply Pandering to Political Whims: An Analysis of Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018 / Esther King’ori and Maureen Syallow
9 Interrogating Online Journalism Regulation and Censorship in Africa – Interview with Churchill Otieno / Sulayman Bah
10 Senegal’s Approach to Digital Media Regulation: Limited Civil Society Consultation, State Control, and the Need for a Continental Approach to Governance – Interview with David Diaz-Jogeix / Sulayman Bah
11 Evasive Journalism: Circumventing the Regulation of Online Journalism in The Gambia / Sulayman Bah
Conclusion / Winston Mano
PART 1: REGULATORY TRENDS AND THE RESEARCH LANDSCAPE
1 Regulating Digital Technologies in Africa: Navigating a Shifting Tech Landscape / Hayes Mawindi Mabwezara
2 Human Rights, Freedom of Expression, and Multi-Stakeholderism in the Regulation of New Media Technologies in Africa – Interview with Guilherme Canela / Vincent Obia
3 Mapping A Research Agenda for Digital Media Regulation in Africa: A Systematic Analysis / Vincent Obia
PART 2: STATE POLICY APPROACHES AND REGULATORY CHALLENGES
4 Cyber Security Laws, Digital Media Spaces and Media Freedoms in Zambia / Youngson Ndawana, Joanne Knowles, and Elastus Mambwe
5 Morocco’s Approach to Digital Media Regulation: State Policy, Power Asymmetry, Platform Dialogue – Interview with Latifa Akharbach / Yemisi Akinbobola
6 Regime Change? Digitalisation, Media Convergence and the Constraints to Reforming Ghana’s Analogue Era Regulatory System / Kobina Bedu-Addo
7 Broadcast Media Regulation and Democratic Transitions in Africa: A Nigerian and South African Case Study / Yemisi Akinbobola, Vincent Obia, and Trust Matsilele
PART 3: DIGITAL MEDIA CENSORSHIP: FRICTIONS, TENSIONS, REACTIONS
8 Balancing Freedom with Responsibility or Simply Pandering to Political Whims: An Analysis of Kenya’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act, 2018 / Esther King’ori and Maureen Syallow
9 Interrogating Online Journalism Regulation and Censorship in Africa – Interview with Churchill Otieno / Sulayman Bah
10 Senegal’s Approach to Digital Media Regulation: Limited Civil Society Consultation, State Control, and the Need for a Continental Approach to Governance – Interview with David Diaz-Jogeix / Sulayman Bah
11 Evasive Journalism: Circumventing the Regulation of Online Journalism in The Gambia / Sulayman Bah
Conclusion / Winston Mano
