New AI rules in Gabon's personal data protection law

There are several direct references to AI in a 2023 amendment to the Gabon law on personal data protection (Loi N° 025/2023 portant modification de la loi n°001/2011 du 25 septembre 2011 relative à la protection des données à caractère personnel). This includes definitions for AI-related terms such as:*

• Artificial Intelligence: a logical and automated process generally based on an algorithm that is able to perform well-defined tasks. Constitutes artificial intelligence, any tool used by a machine;
• Parameter in the field of Artificial Intelligence: learned property of the data used for training;
• Profiling: processing using an individual's personal data in order to analyze and predict his behavior, determine his performance at work, his financial situation, his health, his preferences, his lifestyle habits;
• Facial recognition: technique that allows from facial features to authenticate a person, verify that a person is who he claims to be, to identify him within a group of individuals, in a place, an image or a database;
• Automated processing: all of the following operations carried out in whole or in part by automated means: recording of data, application to these data of logical or arithmetic operations, their modification, erasure, extraction or dissemination
• Automatic speech processing: all disciplines whose objective is the capture, transmission, identification and synthesis of speech. These disciplines include speech recognition, speech synthesis, speaker identification;
• Natural language processing: any multidisciplinary field involving linguistics, computer science and artificial intelligence. It aims to create tools capable of interpreting and synthesizing text for various applications;

Not all of these terms are used in the text. Then, in respective sections there are specific rules related to the use of AI and data sharing or processing.* A first example is the right to human intervention where there is automated processing or profiling:

‍

Second, is a section in which the authority makes available the list of automated processing operations that have been approved:

Third, is a requirement for the State to justify and report on the interconnection of information systems:

‍

Fourth, is a section concerned more directly with 'technological innovation', including AI:

‍

*Machine-translated from French to English using Microsoft Translator

‍