AI Regulation & Data Rights
in Sierra Leone

A Masters research project examining the regulatory landscape for artificial intelligence in Sierra Leone — its gaps, its promise, and its potential to protect every citizen in the digital age.

Maria Sankoh

Masters Student · AI & Regulatory Governance · University of Bradford

Maria Sankoh is a legal researcher specialising in artificial intelligence regulation, data protection law, and digital rights in West Africa. Her research focuses on developing a stakeholder-informed regulatory framework for AI in Sierra Leone, with a particular focus on the Data Protection and Right to Access Information Bill 2025. This survey is a key component of her LLM Research Instrument, gathering views from policymakers, legal professionals, academics, civil society, and technology practitioners across Sierra Leone.

What This Study Is About

This research develops a regulatory framework for AI in Sierra Leone grounded in real stakeholder perspectives. It examines how aware Sierra Leoneans are of AI risks, what drives AI adoption, how ready institutions are, and whether the proposed legal framework is adequate.

The study is one of the first of its kind to bring together legal analysis, stakeholder data, and comparative regulatory approaches in the West African context.

Why Sierra Leone, Why Now

Sierra Leone stands at a pivotal moment. AI-driven technologies are entering every sphere of life — healthcare, justice, finance, education, governance — at a pace that outstrips existing legal frameworks.

The Data Protection and Right to Access Information Bill 2025 is a landmark step. But whether it goes far enough, and whether institutions have the capacity to implement it, are the central questions this research answers.

What We Aim to Understand

  1. 1
    Assess the level of stakeholder awareness of AI risks across government, legal, civil society, and technology sectors in Sierra Leone.
  2. 2
    Identify the key drivers and barriers to responsible AI adoption in Sierra Leone's institutional and regulatory environment.
  3. 3
    Evaluate the institutional capacity of Sierra Leone's public and private sectors to govern and oversee AI systems responsibly.
  4. 4
    Assess the legal adequacy of the Data Protection and Right to Access Information Bill 2025 in regulating AI-driven data processing.
  5. 5
    Develop evidence-based recommendations for a regulatory framework that places human rights, accountability, and transparency at the heart of Sierra Leone's AI governance.

Ethics & Confidentiality

This study has been designed in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the University of Bradford. Participation is entirely voluntary. All responses are anonymous — no personally identifying information is collected unless you choose to provide it.

Data collected through this survey will be used solely for the purposes of academic research leading to a Masters dissertation and associated academic publications. Data will be stored securely and deleted after the research is complete.

Share the Survey

Scan this QR code to open the survey directly — ideal for sharing at events or workshops.

ria-ra.tech/survey.html