K. A. PANZEREV Doctor of Political Science Saint Petersburg State University Keywords: information society, information technologies, information security, Internet, social networks, North Africa In the modern world, "the formation of a new social order based on telecommunications is becoming crucial for economic and social life, for the methods of knowledge production, as well as for the nature of human labor activity."1. The essence of this new way of life is that in it the organization, processing and transfer of information and knowledge become the most important processes. This is not so much about the quantitative growth of information, but rather "that it has become the main, strategic role in our activities, starting with recreation, including business activity and government work" 2. Meanwhile, new information technologies, when used skilfully, are also capable of blowing up the existing order, overthrowing political regimes that seemed unshakable, shaking the foundations of statehood and directing the country's development in a new direction. Today, the central place in the system of public relations is given to modern information and communication technologies (IT). The social relations formed in this way are called the information society, the formation of which is becoming one of the main strategic policy priorities of both developed and developing countries. Most of their leaders see IT as an effective tool that can ensure sustainable socio-economic development and solve many of the problems facing a particular state. AFRICA IN THE DIGITAL AGE: NEW CHALLENGES AND THREATS IT provides "broad opportunities for interaction between individuals, professional groups, unions, associations through the intensification of communication. <...> Thanks to information and communication technologies, various spheres of human activity are being rebuilt: trade, financial activities, education. <...> Information and communication technologies have made a deci ... Читать далее