Seminar: Splinternet Ahead? Africa’s Digital Policy in a World of Regions

Splinternet Ahead? Africa’s Digital Policy in a World of Regions

This seminar will present the eruption of digital technologies initially made the world more interconnected than before, allowing people to interact or make purchases through e-commerce platforms or marketplaces globally. Recent differences in digital laws and regulations across regions have raised concerns that this may be creating a ‘splinternet’, which could lead to regions where interregional interoperability is hindered by contradictory digital laws and obstructs global digital trade. The European Union (EU), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as well as the African Union’s (AU) efforts, are progressing in establishing regional digital policies to facilitate digital trade. Regional leadership has played a decisive role in the creation, adoption, and implementation of region-specific digital policies. However, there is a splinternet among existing digital policies in the EU, USMCA and ASEAN. Therefore, it is interesting to assess whether the AU will jump on the bandwagon or take a posture that seeks to enhance harmonisation, Nigeria and South Africa in this regard.

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