Burkina Faso’s media regulator has imposed a $350,000 fine on French pay television operator Canal+, accusing the broadcaster of failing to comply with directives requiring free access to state-owned television channels.
The regulator said Canal+ had not implemented an earlier order mandating that public television channels remain accessible to subscribers even after their paid subscriptions had expired. According to the watchdog, the company continued to maintain technical restrictions that prevented viewers from accessing unencrypted broadcasts of the country’s national broadcaster, Radiodiffusion Télévision du Burkina (RTB).
The latest sanction is four times higher than the penalty imposed on the French broadcaster in June. At the time, authorities gave Canal+ a 30-day deadline to remove all technical barriers blocking access to the state broadcaster’s free-to-air channels.
The fine comes amid increasing government control over the media landscape in Burkina Faso under the military administration that seized power in a 2022 coup.
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Since taking office, the junta has suspended several major Western media organizations, including France’s RFI radio and France 24 television, while also expelling a number of foreign journalists from the country.
The military-led government has faced growing criticism from rights groups and press freedom advocates over what they describe as a crackdown on dissent, particularly against voices critical of its handling of the jihadist insurgency that has affected Burkina Faso for more than a decade.
