C4SP Opinion Pieces 2025 Series - Concluding Panel Discussion

Throughout 2025, we learned from three opinion pieces about how global regulatory shifts, digital technologies, and platform governance are reshaping the political, environmental, and informational landscapes across Africa. The first piece examined Meta’s shift from third-party fact-checking to “Community Notes,” warning that this untested, crowd-based model could deepen information gaps and increase exposure to foreign disinformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The second piece analyzed the EU Deforestation Regulation, noting that its push for traceable, deforestation-free supply chains creates major data-protection challenges for producer countries with weak legal safeguards, and calling for context-sensitive governance tools such as certification systems or blockchain. The third traced the evolution of digital governance since the ACDEG, highlighting gains in inclusion through mobile banking, digital IDs, and e-governance, while underscoring persistent divides, cybersecurity threats, and expanding surveillance. The final panel brought together leading scholars and practitioners to compare these findings and explore how Africa can navigate the double-edged nature of technological and regulatory change. The interactive session outlined pathways to strengthen accountability, protect local agency, and shape more equitable digital and environmental futures.