Angola’s National Assembly passed a cybersecurity law on Wednesday, August 12, with 104 votes in favor from the ruling MPLA against 56 votes from the opposition Unita, with no abstentions. Introduced by the presidency, the legislation is primarily aimed at strengthening the resilience of the country’s cyberspace and supporting the accelerating digital transformation of society, the economy and public administration.
The new law seeks to protect networks and information systems, critical infrastructure and essential services through the prevention, detection and response to cyber incidents, as well as the recovery of affected systems. It also provides for the creation of a National Cybersecurity Center, presented as a key element of the national framework for tracking and monitoring cyberattacks. The text further introduces fines described as deterrent, with amounts varying depending on whether offenders are individuals or companies, for minor offenses.
The vote comes at a particular moment, a year ahead of the presidential election, and just weeks after the country’s main telecom operator, Unitel, suffered a massive cyberattack in late July at the time of its stock market listing, disrupting its network for several days and affecting millions of customers across the country.
The law has raised concern among part of civil society and the opposition, who see it as an additional layer in the security apparatus being built up by the government. Central to these concerns are the conditions governing access to internet users’ personal data. Several legal experts fear that, in the name of state security, the text could significantly broaden authorities’ access to internet users’ data, in a debate that extends well beyond the mere protection of computer networks.
The government, for its part, has defended its approach. The Minister of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Social Communication, Mário Oliveira, said Angola continues working to adopt international best practices in digital security, and that passing the law will allow the country to advance toward digital sovereignty and strengthen the confidence of international investors. He noted that Angola rose from 12.99 points in 2020 to 39.49 points in 2024 in the international cybersecurity ranking compiled by the International Telecommunication Union. The minister rejected criticism that the law would infringe on citizens’ freedoms, arguing instead that it is designed to protect people and the economy.
MPLA lawmakers also defended the new legislation as a way to better track and punish cybercriminals, in a country where the number of cyberattacks targeting public and private institutions remains, according to the minister, particularly high.
The cybersecurity law is part of a broader legislative package. It follows the entry into force, on August 6, of a law against false information online, adopted in May by the National Assembly and promulgated in July by President João Lourenço, which establishes civil and criminal liability for individuals found guilty of spreading false information on the internet. Critics argue that, taken together, these measures, presented as technical responses to digital security challenges, form a wider legal framework for controlling Angola’s digital space ahead of a major electoral milestone.