Morocco protects citizens by tightening cyber-crime laws

In a written response to a parliamentary question, Morocco’s Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, stated that the country is implementing national legislation to address the threats posed by the recent increase in cybercrime. Ouahbi highlighted the challenges posed by technological developments in the communications sector, mainly due to the growing number of Internet users and the increase in digital transactions. Morocco has strengthened its criminal legislation, particularly about crimes committed through audiovisual and electronic media, the dissemination of private information and false statements that violate privacy. Morocco has demonstrated its commitment to protecting human rights and digital freedoms by ratifying key international conventions. These include the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, which aims to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data by criminalising unlawful access to systems and unauthorised interception of communications. The First Additional Protocol to the Budapest Convention further strengthens this framework by criminalising racist and xenophobic acts committed through digital platforms. Morocco is also contributing to the drafting of a global convention on cybercrime, following UN General Assembly Resolution 247/74, which aims to create a unified international framework to criminalise crimes such as digital fraud, identity theft, and child exploitation.