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Law / Burkina Faso

Loi n°025-2018/AN du 31 mai 2018 portant Code pénal, computer and data systems offenses (Livre VII, Titre I, Chapitre 1)

Loi n°025-2018/AN du 31 mai 2018 portant Code pénal Livre VII, Titre I, Chapitre 1 (infractions relatives aux systèmes et données informatiques, Art. 711-1 à 711-13)

A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.

In force since 31 May 2018.

A computer misuse rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 4 September 2026.

What it requires

  • Do not access, or remain present in, a computer system without right; a heavier penalty applies where the access or continued presence results in data being suppressed, modified, or altered.
  • Do not hinder or falsify the operation of a computer system, or introduce, damage, delete, alter, or suppress computer data without right.
  • Do not intercept a non-public data transmission to, from, or inside a computer system without right.
  • Do not reproduce, extract, or copy computer data belonging to another person without right.
  • Do not produce, sell, obtain, import, or distribute a device, program, password, or access code intended to commit any of the above offenses, unless it is for authorized testing or protecting a computer system.
  • Do not take a person's digital identity, or use data identifying them, in order to disturb them or harm their honor, private life, or property.

If you get it wrong

Criminal exposureYes

Private right of actionNo

Criminal exposure note

Imprisonment of two months to two years and a fine of 250,000 to 600,000 CFA francs for unauthorized access (Art. 711-1), rising to one to five years' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 CFA francs where data is suppressed, modified, or altered; up to one to ten years' imprisonment and a fine of 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 CFA francs for unauthorized data reproduction, extraction, or copying (Art. 711-13); up to eleven to twenty-one years and 10,000,000 to 50,000,000 CFA francs for organizing or joining an association formed to commit these offenses (Art. 711-11).

Penalty structure

Base band for unauthorized access under Art. 711-1, rising to 1,000,000 to 5,000,000 CFA francs where the access results in data suppression, modification, or alteration. Other offenses in the same title carry their own, higher bands: 1,000,000 to 4,000,000 CFA francs for unauthorized reproduction, extraction, or copying of another's computer data (Art. 711-13), and 10,000,000 to 50,000,000 CFA francs for participating in an association formed to commit these offenses (Art. 711-11).

Rule
Fixed only
As of
4 September 2026
Minimum
250,000
Currency
XOF
Fixed cap
600,000

Who enforces it

Enforcement body

Burkinabe public prosecution and the criminal courts

What it reaches

Obligation class

Access restriction

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

Burkina Faso's general computer-misuse title, added to the Penal Code by Loi n°025-2018/AN. Article 711-1 punishes intentionally and without right accessing all or part of a computer system, with a heavier penalty where the access results in the suppression, modification, or alteration of the system's data; Article 711-2 separately punishes unauthorized continued presence in a system, on the same escalating structure.

Article 711-3 punishes hindering or falsifying a system's operation; Article 711-4 the unauthorized introduction of data; Article 711-5 the unauthorized interception of non-public data transmissions; Article 711-6 the unauthorized damaging, deletion, alteration, or suppression of data.

Article 711-10 punishes producing, selling, or possessing a device, program, password, or access code intended to commit any of the above offenses, but carves out production, sale, or possession that does not aim to commit an offense, such as authorized testing or protecting a computer system.

Article 711-12 punishes taking a person's digital identity or using their identifying data to disturb them or harm their honor, private life, or property, and Article 711-13 separately punishes intentionally and without right reproducing, extracting, or copying computer data belonging to another. The title does not define "without right" for a public, unauthenticated web page specifically, and no Burkinabe court decision construing Articles 711-1 to 711-13 in that context was located.

When LexLint raises it

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Read the law

Loi n°025-2018/AN portant Code pénal
full text as republished by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Sharing Electronic Resources and Laws on Crime (SHERLOC) database

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