Understanding the Legal and Technical Challenges of Article 51 Bis
Published on August 17, 2026, by Hamid Behkak, the article delves into the complexities surrounding Article 51 Bis, which, despite its significance, raises numerous legal, technical, and organizational issues. One of the primary concerns is the introduction of this article in the absence of a specific regulatory framework governing artificial intelligence. The lack of clear guidelines defining what is permissible and what is prohibited creates a vacuum that could lead to the imposition of punitive measures within electoral laws without a well-defined conceptual and technical framework. This legislative gap significantly undermines the guarantees of legal and judicial security.
Another pressing issue is the difficulty in identifying the real actor behind the use of fake accounts or servers located outside Morocco. Establishing responsibility in the realm of artificial intelligence presents some of the most complex legal and judicial challenges. Additionally, the rapid dissemination of content and its repercussions often outpace the authorities' response capabilities. Artificial intelligence can escalate misleading information from individual actions to large-scale organized campaigns, complicating timely detection, as evidenced by recent events in Ceuta and the mass exodus of youth, which were exacerbated by digital spaces as noted by the Ministry of Interior.
The article further highlights the challenge of differentiating between freedom of expression and political criticism versus electoral misinformation. The collaboration of foreign digital platforms with judicial authorities is also hindered by the lack of bilateral agreements. Moreover, Article 51 Bis does not adequately define 'artificial intelligence tools,' which are continually evolving and far outpace the speed of legislative processes. The ambiguity surrounding the criteria for proving criminal intent in electoral crimes and the digital political discourse reliant on AI techniques adds to the complexity. The difficulty in distinguishing between the original actor and the publisher or technical intermediary opens the door to broad interpretations, particularly amidst a judiciary that currently lacks sufficient technical expertise, while artificial intelligence and deepfakes have made significant strides, posing a real threat to the integrity of electoral processes worldwide.
The Foundation of Electoral Cybersecurity
With the modernization of the electoral legislative arsenal and the Moroccan legislator's inclusion of digital means and artificial intelligence tools within electoral crimes, it is possible to discuss the establishment of a framework for electoral cybersecurity. Electoral cybersecurity encompasses a set of legal, technical, and organizational measures aimed at protecting all stages of the electoral process from cyberattacks and digital interventions, ensuring the integrity of elections, the safety of their data, and public trust in their outcomes. It is considered one of the most crucial branches of cybersecurity.
This domain intersects with constitutional law, electoral laws, criminal law, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, all of which contribute to safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process and its outputs from constitutional institutions like the government and parliament, and the digital space where voters’ will is formed. Thus, the concept of electoral integrity has shifted from merely protecting the ballot box to safeguarding data, platforms, servers, and components of the digital environment that are linked to and influence elections. Consequently, electoral cybersecurity is not solely a technical and engineering issue.
Electoral cybersecurity comprises five main areas: the electoral infrastructure, which includes voter databases, voter registration systems, government servers, and election oversight bodies; electoral actors, encompassing political parties, candidates, electoral committees, and observers of the voting processes; electoral information, such as electoral lists, voting results, and personal data of voters; the digital space, comprising social media platforms, websites, digital political advertisements, and campaign applications; and voter trust, focusing on combating false news, addressing deepfakes, and protecting public opinion from foreign influence campaigns.
Article 51 Bis acknowledges the emergence of the 'digital election campaign,' which reflects the digital transformation of campaigning. This concept encompasses all digital activities and means employed by candidates, parties, or supporting entities to communicate with voters, influence public opinion, gather data, and manage campaigns through online and digital technologies. It represents a new model of campaigning based on data, algorithms, software, and artificial intelligence, as opposed to merely transferring posters or speeches online.
Digital campaign tools include dedicated candidate websites, social media accounts, digital election advertisements, text messages, emails, smartphone applications, online meetings and live broadcasts, chatbots, AI content generation tools, and big data analysis for targeting specific voter segments. An examination of Article 51 Bis reveals that it indirectly recognizes the existence of digital election campaigns, even if it does not explicitly use this term. By mentioning social media networks, electronic platforms, internet-based applications, AI tools, and information systems, it acknowledges that the digital space has become an electoral arena where electoral crimes can indeed be perpetrated just as they are in the physical world. Furthermore, in advanced international experiences, the discussion has shifted from electronic campaigns to smart campaigns that leverage artificial intelligence, big data, predictive analysis of voter behavior, precise targeting, and tailored content for different voter segments. This evolution raises new legal challenges concerning personal data protection, transparency of political advertisements, and preventing manipulation of public opinion, necessitating the Moroccan context to expedite the issuance of legislation to keep pace with this transformation. Although the Moroccan legislator has laid the groundwork for criminal law regarding digital election campaigns, a comprehensive legal framework to regulate them is still lacking, with particular issues requiring specific regulation such as a law addressing artificial intelligence and its applications during electoral campaigns and specific electoral regulatory laws defining digital election campaigns and regulating political advertisements on digital platforms. Additionally, there is a need for algorithm transparency and personal data protection for voters, which calls for updating the personal data protection law that has been in place for over 15 years.
As reported by pjd.ma.
