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Data Geopolitics
The Matrix Reloaded

Morocco's digital Sovereignty in the Global Data Warfare
Palm tree telecom tower

Camouflaged palm tree cell tower

Morocco represents a compelling case study in modern data geopolitics, particularly in its complex relationship with Western powers. As both an ally of Europe and the USA, while maintaining its sovereign interests, Morocco faces unique challenges in managing its digital infrastructure and data sovereignty.

A critical aspect is Morocco's telecommunications sector, where French companies like Orange maintain significant control, creating potential vulnerabilities in data security and surveillance[1]. This digital dependence on France, its former colonizer, extends beyond mere commercial relationships into potential intelligence gathering and monitoring capabilities.

The country's economic integration with the EU subjects it to European data protection regulations while lacking robust domestic data governance frameworks. This asymmetry in data control and infrastructure ownership compromises Morocco's digital autonomy, particularly as data becomes increasingly central to national security and economic development[2].

The situation exemplifies the broader challenges facing developing nations in balancing international partnerships with digital sovereignty. Morocco's position highlights how data infrastructure and control have become crucial elements of modern geopolitical influence, potentially affecting a nation's ability to make independent strategic decisions.

Moroccan data infrastructure Market

Morocco's telecommunications landscape reveals a complex web of foreign influence and ownership that directly impacts its data sovereignty. The major players paint a telling picture: Orange Maroc, despite having 51% Moroccan ownership split between O Capital Group (25.5%) and CDG (25.5%), effectively operates under French control through Orange France's dominant 49% stake. The market leader, Maroc Telecom, is primarily controlled by UAE's Etisalat Group with 53% ownership, while the Moroccan government retains 30%. This company has become a battleground for technological influence, with U.S.-based Oracle and China's Huawei competing for infrastructure contracts despite the latter facing U.S. sanctions[3]. A glimmer of domestic control exists in Inwi, which maintains predominantly Moroccan ownership through SNI (69%) and Al Ajial Investment Fund (15.5%), with only minor foreign participation from Zain Group (15.5%). However, even Inwi's independence is compromised by its reliance on Maroc Telecom's infrastructure.

In conclusion, while Inwi remains relatively free from major international influence, Morocco's key telecommunications companies are still primarily controlled by external entities. The Moroccan state retains partial ownership, but this external control over data flows and infrastructure poses significant challenges to Morocco's digital sovereignty and independence.

Understanding Morocco's telecommunications sector's ownership and control dynamics highlights the broader implications of data sovereignty and geopolitical influence. To fully grasp the extent of this influence, it's essential to explore the nature of data itself and how it transforms into a strategic asset in the digital age. By examining the fundamental question—what is data?—we can better understand how it becomes a tool for control and manipulation on the global stage.

How Data is Used in Geopolitics:

In the evolving landscape of global power dynamics, data has emerged as a formidable geopolitical tool, fundamentally reshaping how nations exert influence and control. This transformation is evident through five critical mechanisms: surveillance, cyber warfare, influence operations, economic espionage, and resource management.

  • The NSA's PRISM program exemplifies modern surveillance capabilities, enabling comprehensive monitoring of global communications.
  • While Russia's interference in the 2016 US election demonstrates the potency of cyber warfare in influencing democratic processes.
  • China's strategic use of social media during the Hong Kong protests illustrates how governments leverage data analytics for targeted propaganda campaigns.
  • While their military's hack of Equifax, compromising millions of Americans' personal data, shows the scale of economic espionage possible in our digital age.
  • Nations also employ advanced analytics for strategic resource management, as seen in the US's use of satellite data to monitor global oil reserves and shape energy policy.

Morocco's telecommunications sector presents a microcosm of these global dynamics - despite maintaining partial ownership of its digital infrastructure, the country grapples with foreign influence through companies like Maroc Telecom and Orange Maroc. Even Inwi, Morocco's most domestically controlled operator, relies on foreign-owned infrastructure, highlighting the challenges developing nations face in protecting their digital sovereignty while participating in an interconnected world. This reality underscores how data control has become fundamental to modern geopolitical power, influencing national security, economic competition, and social control on a global scale.

The emergence of AI technologies adds another critical dimension to this data-driven geopolitical landscape, particularly impacting nations like Morocco that lack sovereign AI capabilities. As global powers like the US, China, and the EU race to develop and deploy AI systems for surveillance, cybersecurity, and economic advantage, Morocco finds itself increasingly dependent on foreign AI technologies and infrastructure. This dependency extends beyond basic data collection into AI-powered analysis and decision-making systems, potentially exposing the country to more sophisticated forms of digital colonialism. Through French and European AI systems processing Moroccan telecommunications data, or Chinese AI technologies embedded in Huawei's infrastructure, foreign entities gain unprecedented insights into and influence over Morocco's digital ecosystem. For a nation already grappling with data sovereignty challenges, the AI revolution threatens to widen the power gap between Morocco and major global players, making the protection of national interests increasingly complex in an AI-driven world.

Morocco's Relationship with Data Powers:

In today's digital geopolitical landscape, Morocco finds itself at a critical crossroads of competing data governance models, each presenting unique challenges to its digital sovereignty. The kingdom's long-standing intelligence and counterterrorism cooperation with the United States, built on shared security interests and technology exchange, now intersects with America's market-driven approach to data governance, exemplified by the 2018 Cloud Act that grants U.S. authorities broad access to data stored by American companies globally.

This reality contrasts sharply with China's vision, implemented through its Belt and Road Initiative and Digital Silk Road, which emphasizes strict state control and censorship, as evidenced by their 2020 enhancement of the Cybersecurity Law affecting Chinese companies worldwide. Including those in Morocco, by enforcing strict data monitoring and state access requirements.

India's emerging "data sovereignty" model presents a third path, focusing on domestic control while allowing strategic international cooperation, as seen in their "GI Cloud" initiative and recent policy adjustments to balance protectionism with global integration.

Meanwhile, the European Union's approach, centered on individual rights and balanced data flows, particularly influences Morocco due to its geographical proximity and strong economic ties. The EU's model attempts to protect personal data while maintaining essential international data transfers for economic growth. Russia's presence in the digital sphere adds another layer of complexity, particularly regarding cybersecurity concerns.

For Morocco, a nation strategically positioned between these competing models, the challenge lies in developing a data governance framework that protects national interests while maintaining beneficial international partnerships. This delicate balancing act requires careful consideration of each model's implications for sovereignty, security, and economic development, all while lacking the technological and economic leverage of these major powers.

Charting Morocco's Digital Future

As Morocco navigates the complex landscape of digital sovereignty, a comprehensive strategy emerges as crucial for protecting national interests while fostering digital growth. At the heart of this strategy lies the urgent need to strengthen the National Data Protection Commission (CNDP) with enhanced regulatory powers and resources, alongside developing robust data protection laws that align with international standards. The kingdom must make strategic investments in domestic digital infrastructure and talent development, particularly in cybersecurity and data analytics, to reduce its current dependence on foreign expertise. A key aspect of this transformation involves diversifying telecommunications partnerships beyond traditional providers while incentivizing domestic cloud computing and data localization - moves that could help balance international relationships while building local capacity. Public-private partnerships emerge as essential drivers of innovation and knowledge transfer within Morocco's digital ecosystem, while the empowerment of CNDP as an autonomous regulatory body becomes crucial for effective oversight of telecommunication providers and data handlers without foreign influence. The strategy must also encompass promoting digital literacy among citizens, strengthening cybersecurity infrastructure, and maintaining transparent communication with civil society. Morocco's active participation in international digital governance forums becomes increasingly important to ensure its voice shapes global data policies. For this emerging regional power, success hinges on consistent implementation, adequate resource allocation, and strong political will to prioritize digital sovereignty while maintaining beneficial international partnerships - presenting not just a challenge but an opportunity to establish itself as a model for balanced digital development in the region.

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[1] La révélation est du Nouvel Obs. Sous Sarkozy, la France avait élaboré un vaste plan pour intercepter les communications internationales passant par les câbles sous-marins. Piloté par la DGSE, il a notamment permis d’espionner le Maroc sur une affaire de vente d’avions de chasse. L’objectif de l’Elysée était d’annihiler tout projet terroriste, nucléaire ou de profiter en coulisse de juteux contrats.’
...Suite : 
https://www.yabiladi.com/articles/details/37180/vente-rafale-maroc-espionne-france.html

[2] La France aurait espionné les télécommunications au Maroc. Des diplomates et des hommes politiques marocains auraient été ainsi mis sous écoute illégale par le service du contre-espionnage extérieur français.

[3] https://www.africaintelligence.com/north-africa/2024/05/02/oracle-and-h…