Perception Of Key Stakeholders In Morocco Regarding The Regulation Of Online Platforms - A Qualitative Study
Author: LawSphereX
Category: Technology, Cyber & Privacy
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PERCEPTION OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN MOROCCO
REGARDING THE REGULATION OF ONLINE PLATFORMS: A QUALITATIVE STUDY Khalid Abouelouafa, EM2TI, National Institute of Posts and Telecommunications Rabat, Morocco
ABSTRACT
Online platforms raise several issues regarding harmful content dissemination, users’ data privacy, fake news, and plurality. This study aims to explore Moroccan stakeholders’ perceptions about platforms regulation in the country. We recruited 7 decision-makers and executives involved in digital development and regulation and conducted semi-structured face to face interviews. Five themes were found: The necessity to establish a regulatory framework, The difficulty to enforce regulation, The necessity to preserve speech freedom, the role of civil society players and the importance of international cooperation. We found that participants are aware of the complexity of regulation empowerment. Nevertheless, they emphasize the necessity to address the issue either by improving legal framework or by encouraging civil society endeavor. Keywords: Online platforms, Morocco, Qualitative study
Introduction
This qualitative study aims to assess the perceptions of stakeholders involved in the development of the digital environment in Morocco, particularly those directly concerned with the issues surrounding online platforms regulation in Morocco. An explorative, qualitative approach was adopted utilizing semi-structured face-to-face interviews. To ensure research quality, the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines1 were followed for both the drafting and review of the research report. Context: Online platforms use has increased every single year in the past decade all around the world, including Morocco. Indeed, nine out of ten Moroccan households have access to Internet in 20242 and social networks are being used by almost 30 million people in Morocco.
However, this growth is accompanied with concerns related to the proliferation of illegal contents in those platforms, fake news and content that may endanger young people and children. Many countries adopted regulations that are dedicated to online platforms for example NetzDG3 in Germany or DSA regulation in E. U. Morocco has a legal framework for illegal and harmful content4 that may be disseminated on online platforms. On the other hand, competition law5 in Morocco addresses competition issues that may arise regarding online platforms. But until now there is no regulation that aims to address digital platforms in the country.
Recently a lot of voices6 in Morocco are raising against some platform’s practices, highlighting 1 Allison Tong, Peter Sainsbury, Jonathan Craig, Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups, International Journal for Quality in Health Care, Volume 19, Issue 6, December 2007, Pages 349– lack of moderation and control by platforms on content that may be considered harmful for young people and not suited to the country’s cultural values. In this study, we used an explorative qualitative approach to assess stakeholders’ opinion and perception about the question of regulating or not online platforms in the country. To proceed with this study, we followed the recommended steps7 of sampling, data collection, data analysis and coding.
Sampling: Participants were selected through purposive sampling until theoretical saturation was reached. Eligibility Criteria was based on the involvement of participant in Morocco's digital ecosystem (e. g. , decision-makers, executives) and their interest in digital development and regulatory framework. Data Collection: A semi-structured interview guide was developed, based on a comprehensive literature review of Morocco’s legal status on illegal and harmful content, data privacy and competition low and a comparative with the E. U regulatory framework, especially DSA8 and DMA9 regulation. The questions included in the interview guide submitted to selected interviewee is presented in Table 1 Can Morocco enforce a hypothetic regulation of online platforms? What do you think about ISP and hosting platforms liability limitation? What should be the role of civil society players?
What do you think about the relationship between online platform regulation and speech freedom? What do you think about ban or filtering of certain online platforms? Which international organization or consortium should be joined by the country to fight online platforms abuses? Table 1: List of questions A thematic analysis10 of the collected data was performed. Interviews were recorded (subject to consent of the participants) using a smartphone recorder, each interview lasted between 45 minutes and an hour. Complete transcripts were produced post-interview, to ensure accurate analysis. Table 2 shows the list of participants.
Interviewee Affiliation Position ADD: Digital development agency CEO Medi Telecom: Telecom Operator CEO N+One: ISP and Datacenter CEO Law firm Lawyer ANRT: National telecom regulation authority Member of the board of directors of the ANRT and international expert at ITU IT firm CEO Orange Middle East and Africa: (Telecom Holding) Regulatory affairs Director Table 2: list of participants 10 Miles MB, Huberman, AM, Saldaña J. Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed. ) Los Angeles, CA: S; 2014. sourcebook (3rd ed. ) Los Angeles, CA: S; 2014.
Ethical Considerations: Participants were informed of the study’s objectives and provided express consent, understanding their participation was voluntary. Anonymity was maintained throughout the research process. Data Analysis: Audio recordings were manually transcribed verbatim and reviewed once to ensure accuracy with the recording. A thematic analysis was used to group related codes into overarching themes. In each transcript key phrases were identified and coded to generate themes. Results: Seven participants with no refusals or withdrawals were interviewed. We proceeded to iterative coding primary coding, sub-themes and finally themes. The study identified five main themes: o The necessity to establish a regulatory framework. o The difficulty to enforce regulation. o The importance of speech freedom and individual rights.
o The role of educational institutions and civil society players. o The importance of international convention and treaties. Discussion: Thematic analysis of the outcomes of the interviews shows that: The necessity to establish a regulatory framework: Participants emphasized the necessity to establish a comprehensive legal framework for digital platforms but are torn with regards to whether platforms should be regulated in Morocco. The difficulty to enforce regulation: Participants maintains that it extremely difficult to enforce any regulation regarding online platforms, regarding the country size and economy. The importance of speech freedom and individual rights: Participants stressed on the necessity to preserve freedom of speech with due regard to the Moroccan constitution and international treaties and conventions ratified by the country.
The role of educational institutions and civil society players: The interviewee are aware of the importance of civil society players to sensitize and raise awareness about online platforms and especially social networks harms. They claim that schools, universities, and religious authorities should play a major role in sensitizing youths and children. The importance of international convention and treaties: Some participants think that any potential regulation should be accompanied by adhesion of the country to international treaties and conventions aiming to enforce such regulation. Limitations The study faced recruitment challenges due to limited access to certain institutions, potentially affecting the generalizability of findings to all Moroccan stakeholders. Conclusion This study provides insights into Moroccan stakeholders' perspectives on digital platform regulation.
It highlights the need for a tailored regulatory approach, balancing local cultural considerations and international best practices. Further studies could explore more in depth the role of civil society and international cooperation in shaping Morocco’s digital regulatory framework.