Niger

Summary

Niger presents uncertain risk; the legal framework is evolving rapidly and enforcement is severely disrupted. The personal data protection framework has been substantially revised: Law No. 2017-28 of May 3, 2017 (modified by Law 2019-71 of December 24, 2019) has been replaced by Law No. 2022-59 of December 16, 2022 (itself modified by Law 2023-31 of July 4, 2023 and Ordinances 2024-16 of April 26, 2024 and 2024-29 of June 24, 2024), establishing the HAPDP (Haute Autorité de Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel). The HAPDP operates and has published the Law 2022-59 text on its official site (hapdp.ne). On cybercrime, Law No. 2019-33 of July 3, 2019 criminalises unauthorised access to computer systems (1–3 years + 500,000–1,000,000 CFA francs), but the full primary-source text of the unauthorised-access provisions is not readily accessible in authoritative indexed repositories — searches return the interception-of-communications provisions and speech-related articles rather than the access provisions. No EU-style sui generis database right; database protection is compilation-originality only. Niger is an ECOWAS member and has ratified the AU Malabo Convention. Enforcement by HAPDP is nascent; political instability following the July 2023 coup has severely disrupted governance. No web-scraping case law. Confidence remains low: the DP law amendment chain is complex and the consolidated current text needs primary-source verification; the cybercrime law access provisions are not fully accessible.