AI Laws: A Global Overview with a Focus on Africa

What if you found out that your personal data had been shared with an AI chatbot, without your permission?

That's what happened to Sayida Masanja in 2023, leading him to sue telecom giant Vodacom Tanzania for $4.3 million.

With the estimated number of AI tool users projected to reach almost a billion in a few years, it is safe to say that AI is no longer a futuristic concept.

AI has pretty much become a staple for many in various industries, as routine tasks and complex processes are powered through within minutes.

The potentials of AI know no bounds; hence, this technology comes with the necessity to regulate its development and application.

Regulating the development and use of AI technology is inevitable due to the possible hazards and the requirement to strike a balance between technological advancement, public safety, data privacy, and equity.

Outline:

1. AI Laws Across African Nations
   - South Africa
   - Nigeria
   - Kenya
   - Rwanda
   - Egypt
2. Comparative Analysis of AI Laws Across African Nations
3. AI Laws in Europe, America, and Other Global Regions
4. Why Are AI Laws Essential?
   - Preventing Manipulation and Exploitation
   - Protecting Privacy and Human Rights
   - Ensuring Fair and Just AI-Based Decisions
5. What Does The Future Hold for AI Laws in Africa?
6. Conclusion
   

Africa’s AI governance is evolving, with several countries crafting policies to harness AI’s potential while addressing its risks.

Here’s a direct look at specific laws and frameworks in key nations:

South Africa finalized its National Policy Framework on Artificial Intelligence in August, 2024. It outlines ethical guidelines to promote responsible AI use. It mandates transparency in AI decision-making and prioritizes public safety, aiming to foster innovation while protecting citizens’ rights.

This framework aims to position the country as a leader in responsible AI, with implementation planned for 2025–2027, aligning with global standards. The country is also exploring sector-specific rules, like AI in healthcare, to ensure practical governance.

Nigeria’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy (2023), launched in 2023, focuses on leveraging AI for economic growth in agriculture, finance, and healthcare.

However, they are also deliberate about having ethical standards and regulatory measures in place to prevent the misuse of AI.

Though at a very low level, the Nigerian budding approach speaks to a wider continental trend of taking proactive regulations in AI.

Kenya relies on its Data Protection Act of 2019 to indirectly govern AI, implying that data protection and AI regulation are crucial in this dynamic data era. This law requires consent for data collection and imposes fines up to KES 5 million (about $38,000) for breaches, shaping AI regulation by addressing data privacy, which is a key AI concern.

Kenya also launched the Draft National AI Strategy 2025–2030 in January 2025 by the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy, which aims to position Kenya as a regional AI hub.

It focuses on ethical, inclusive, and innovation-driven AI adoption, with public consultations ongoing through 2025.

Rwanda’s National AI Policy promotes ethical AI development, mandating fairness and transparency in AI applications like its smart city projects. It includes guidelines for public-sector AI use and invests in training regulators to enhance digital leadership.

In its efforts to become a regional tech hub, the country spends on initiatives that would ensure responsible use of AI, thus bolstering its reputation as a leader in digital transformation in Africa.

Egypt’s National AI Strategy balances economic gains with regulation. It requires AI systems in public services to meet ethical benchmarks and is developing a framework to monitor AI in sectors like transportation, ensuring innovation aligns with governance.

To illustrate the diversity and commonalities, here’s a table summarizing key aspects of the discussed nations’ AI policies:

This table underscores the varied approaches, with South Africa and Kenya showing recent advancements, while Nigeria and Rwanda demonstrate ongoing commitments with broader sectoral applications.

Europe: The European Union’s Artificial Intelligence Act (proposed 2021) bans manipulative AI systems and restricts real-time biometric identification in public spaces, enforcing strict compliance for high-risk AI with administrative fines up to €35 million or 7% of its total worldwide annual turnover.

United States: The U.S. lacks a unified AI law, relying on sector-specific regulations. The Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI (2023) mandates federal agencies to develop AI risk management guidelines, while the Algorithmic Accountability Act of 2023 requires companies to audit AI for bias. California’s Consumer Privacy Act also governs AI data use, however, the lack of a consistent national policy begs questions about possible weaknesses that might be taken advantage of and unequal application.

Asia & Beyond: China’s AI Governance Regulations prioritize surveillance and security, while Japan’s ethical guidelines encourage innovation with voluntary compliance. Latin America and the Middle East lag with emerging AI policies.

Africa’s emerging frameworks draw inspiration from these models but focus on local needs like infrastructure and equity.

Laws governing AI not only aid in reducing potential risks but also permit responsible use and moral innovation.

In a region like Africa, where new tech ecosystems are expanding quickly despite the continent's unique economic and social realities, artificial intelligence presents a particularly dynamic challenge.

African countries are starting to develop policies that address local nuances while adhering to international standards as they gradually realize how important it is to regulate AI.

AI is able to influence the thoughts and decisions of people in ways they are oblivious of. Artificial Intelligence systems can be designed in such a way as to manipulate users, compelling them to make purchases, adopt political opinions, or make personal choices without their consent.

Beyond this, AI technology can be weaponized against vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly to trick them into scams or to collect personal data, by using deepfakes (convincingly realistic but fake image, video or audio).

For example, in California, an elderly man named Anthony was swindled out of $25,000 by con artists who used AI voice technology to impersonate his son.

The scammers fabricated a story about his son being involved in a severe accident that required him to pay bail, prompting Anthony to deliver cash to couriers.

Another grave concern is the collection of personal data without people's permission for training artificial intelligence technology.

Potential privacy issues arise from the use of biometric data, including security camera footage and social media facial images, to develop and refine AI systems.

Moreover, AI systems can use the gathered data to classify people based on sensitive personal attributes, such as race or political beliefs, which can lead to discrimination and unfair treatment.

For instance, Stability AI has been accused of scraping millions of images from the internet without consent to train its models, raising significant privacy and ethical concerns.

Big decisions, including who gets hired, who gets a loan, and even who is considered a risk, are being shaped by artificial intelligence. Still, it's not perfect.

Trained on biased data, it can reinforce prejudice, such as favouring men in employment or unfairly labelling law enforcement personnel.

Certain locations even rank people using "social scoring," which might prevent them from accessing services or employment depending on an algorithm.

Should we be negligent, artificial intelligence may choose our futures in unfair ways. To keep it under control, we thus need strong laws and human supervision.

The African Union is pushing for a continental AI framework to unify policies, ensuring ethical AI deployment across borders. International partnerships—offering technical aid and expertise—will bolster this effort.

With AI poised to tackle challenges like healthcare access and food security, Africa’s future laws aim to empower, not just regulate. Collaboration among policymakers, tech innovators, and communities will shape inclusive, effective governance.

Let’s reflect on these insights together—the world has witnessed a race to regulate AI, taking into account different approaches by regions in balancing innovation and safety.

Europe leads the pack with complete laws such as the EU AI Act, while the US adopts a sector-specific approach that provides for a more flexible legislative environment for AI development.

As several African countries make impressive strides in setting the tone for regulation, South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya appear to have a way forward in AI governance. The challenges confronting regulation include data privacy and infrastructure but there are many opportunities for growth.

The call by the African Union for a unified framework underscores the need for cooperation in a digital world. AI regulation is not considered to slow down progress; rather, it is a way of ensuring the benefits of technology are shared equitably and responsibly.