Database

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GUINEA-BISSAU

Since October 2012

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Restrictions on domain names
Decree No. 7/2012 of 23 October - Regulations of the Domain name registration (Decreto No. 7/2013 de 23 de Outubro - Regulamento do Registo de Domínios)
Art. 2 of Decree No. 7/2012 states that only entities legally incorporated or residents in Guinea-Bissau can acquire local domain names ".gw". However, under certain conditions, temporary domain registration can take place, namely if the foreign company appoints a local legal representative and presents a declaration duly certified committing to set up the company in Guinea-Bissau.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Framework for consumer protection applicable to online commerce
Lack of comprehensive consumer protection law applicable to online commerce
Guinea-Bissau lacks a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Ratification of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Lack of signature of the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts
Guinea-Bissau has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Guinea-Bissau has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Sub-pillar Adoption of United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Guinea-Bissau has not adopted national legislation based on, or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Domestic data policies  |  Sub-pillar Framework for data protection
Lack of comprehensive legal framework for data protection
Guinea-Bissau does not have a comprehensive regime in place for personal data, but it has implemented some limited sectoral regulations. Under Art. 8(d) of the Interconnection Regulations (Decree No. 13/2010 of 27 May) applicable in the telecom sector, the interconnection must ensure the protection of data, including the protection of personal data and the confidentiality of transmitted or archived information.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbour for intermediaries for copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place for copyright infringements
A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Guinea-Bissau's law and jurisprudence.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar Safe harbour for intermediaries for any activity other than copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place beyond copyright infringement
A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Guinea-Bissau's law and jurisprudence.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

GUINEA-BISSAU

Since November 2013

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Sub-pillar User identity requirement
Decree No. 22/2013 of 13 November - Subscribers of Mobile Telecom Network Regulations (Decreto No. 22/2013 de 13 de Novembro - Regulamento para Identificação de Assinantes das Redes de Telecomunicações Móveis do País)
According to Arts. 3 and 5 of Decree No. 22/2013, anyone wishing to subscribe to mobile cellular telecommunications services (including the acquisition of SIM cards) is obliged to identify themselves by registering their names and national identification numbers before the telecommunications operators.
Coverage Mobile telecommunications services

GUINEA-BISSAU

Reported in 2024

Pillar Content access  |  Sub-pillar Presence of Internet shutdowns
Presence of Internet shutdowns
The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Guinea-Bissau for the year 2023. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Sub-pillar Functional/accounting separation for operators with significant market power
Lack of mandatory functional separation for dominant network operators
Guinea-Bissau does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation under Arts. 70.c and 74.c of Law No. 5/2010 of May 27th - Basic Information and Communications and Technologies Law (Lei No. 5/2010 of 27 de Maio - Lei de Base das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação).
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Sub-pillar Signature of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper
Lack of appendment of WTO Telecom Reference Paper to schedule of commitments
Guinea-Bissau has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GUINEA-BISSAU

Since May 2010

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Sub-pillar Presence of an independent telecom authority
Law No. 5/2010 of 27 May - Basic Information and Communications and Technologies Law (Lei No. 5/2010 de 27 de Maio - Lei de Base das Tecnologias de Informação e Comunicação)
The telecom regulating body of Guinea-Bissau (Autoridade Reguladora Nacional - ARN) is independent in the exercise of its functions according to Art. 7 of Law No. 5/2010.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

GUINEA-BISSAU

N/A

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Sub-pillar Participation in trade agreements committing to open cross-border data flows
Lack of participation in agreements with binding commitments on data flows
Guinea-Bissau has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.
Coverage Horizontal

GUINEA-BISSAU

Since August 2012

Pillar Public procurement of ICT goods and online services  |  Sub-pillar Other limitations on foreign participation in public procurement
Decree-Law No. 20/2012 of 20 August - Public Procurement Code (Decreto-Lei No. 20/2012 de 20 de Agosto - Código dos Contratos Públicos)
According to Art. 66 of Decree-Law No. 20/2012, there is a community preference. When a public contract or delegation of public service is awarded, preference must be given to the bid submitted by a community company from the West African Economic Monetary Union - WAEMU community. The Community preference must be quantified in the form of a percentage of the bid amount of the offer. This percentage is set at 15%, and the Community preference margin must be provided in the tender document. In addition, according to Art. 30, in case of a contract with a local authority or one of the public entities, a candidate intending to subcontract at least 30% of the total contract value to a company from a national company may benefit from an additional preference margin up to 5%.
Coverage Horizontal

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