Namibia does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties.

Namibia lacks a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions.

Namibia has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Namibia has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Namibia has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Namibia does not have a data protection framework, leaving an important void in the country with regard to data governance and digital trade governance. A Data Protection Bill is currently in the consultation phase. This is set to support the Electronic Transactions Act, which does not cover many aspects of data in a digital economy.

Section 119 of the Communications Act stipulates that the Regulator "may prescribe a mandatory period for the retention of records which may not exceed eight years".

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Chapter 6 of the Act, a service provider enjoys protection from any civil or criminal liabilities concerning third-party material presented in the form of data, to which they merely grant access through information system services for data transmission, routing, or storage within a system under their control. To qualify for this protection, the service provider must adhere to the following conditions: (a) they do not initiate the transmission; (b) they do not select the recipient; (c) they perform functions automatically and technically without data selection; and (d) they refrain from modifying the transmitted data.

The Electronic Transactions Act establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. According to Chapter 6 of the Act, a service provider enjoys protection from any civil or criminal liabilities concerning third-party material presented in the form of data, to which they merely grant access through information system services for data transmission, routing, or storage within a system under their control. To qualify for this protection, the service provider must adhere to the following conditions: (a) they do not initiate the transmission; (b) they do not select the recipient; (c) they perform functions automatically and technically without data selection; and (d) they refrain from modifying the transmitted data.

Section 17 of General Notice No. 180 requires telecommunications service providers to ensure that customers using a SIM card are registered as the cardholder. For customers who are natural persons, this includes obtaining their name, address, and identification document number. Furthermore, Section 18 stipulates that no SIM card may be distributed or activated unless the customer has been registered as the cardholder.

Section 46 of the Communications Act restricts shareholding in the telecommunications sector to a maximum of 49% for foreigners or companies that are not owned and controlled by Namibian citizens.

Namibia is not a signatory of the 1996 World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) nor the 2015 expansion (ITA II).

There are three telecommunications providers in Namibia: Telecom Namibia Group, Mobile Telecommunications Namibia (MTC), and Paratus Telecommunications. Two of these, Telecom Namibia Group and Mobile Telecommunications Limited, are the incumbent telecommunications providers and are also fully state-owned. Furthermore, it is reported that among the mobile network operators, the mobile infrastructure is 97% owned by the state-owned Telecom Namibia and MTC. In addition, MTC's market share is close to 100% for both voice and SMS traffic.

According to Art. 6 of the Code of Best Practices on Preferences, the nature of procurements in Annexes 2, 3 and 4 of the Code is reserved exclusively for procurement from Namibian suppliers who have met the nationality requirements of Article 71.3 of the Public Procurement Act and the local content requirement determined in the Code. The annexes mentioned above contain several goods, such as Electrical Cables, Computer Consumables, Distribution Transformers, and Games and Gaming Products. Additionally, they encompass services like audiovisual services, marketing, advertising and branding services, research services, information and communication technology services, and professional services (including quantity surveying, architecture, and auditing).