The Bahamas has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

The Bahamas has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

It is reported that The Bahamas imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card, or a passport in case of foreigners.

According to Art. 39 of the Communications Act, the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) may at any time determine that a licensee is a Significant Market Power (SMP) licensee if the licensee, individually or with others, enjoys a position of economic strength which enables it to hinder the maintenance of effective competition on the relevant market by allowing it to behave to an appreciable extent independently of its competitors, consumers and subscribers. Under Art. 40.1, the URCA may impose specific conditions on licensees determined to have SMP in the relevant market or relevant markets, including obligations relating to (i) cost recovery and price controls, including obligations for cost orientation of prices and obligations concerning cost accounting systems; and (ii) the submission of regulatory accounts or financial statements separating the key business activities of the licensee.

The Bahamas has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments. In fact, the country is not a member of the WTO.

It is reported that the Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Section 42 of the Gaming Act provides that the holder of a restricted interactive gaming licence shall conduct the operations authorised by the licence only from a website located, operated, managed, and maintained in The Bahamas, and approved by the Board. A restricted interactive gaming licence authorises the conduct of interactive gaming transactions between a licence holder and (a) citizens of permitted foreign jurisdictions, and (b) persons located on the licensed premises of the holder of the licence, from a website established, maintained, and operated by the licence holder in The Bahamas.

Under Art. 17 of the Data Protection (Privacy of Personal Information) Act 2003 and the Data Protection Commissioners Guidelines, personal data transfers are permitted where: (i) an adequate level of protection is afforded by a contract; (ii) the transfer is required or authorised by or under any enactment, or required by any convention or other instrument imposing an international obligation on the Bahamas; (iii) the transfer is made under the consent (express or implied) of the data subject; (iv) the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data controller and the data subject; among other conditions.

The Bahamas has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

The Data Protection (Privacy of Personal Information) Act 2003 provides a comprehensive data protection regime in the Bahamas. The Act addresses specific elements of data protection, including: rights of access and deletion (Art. 8); establishment of the data protection authority (Art. 15); data transfers (Art. 17); among others.

According to Art. 13 of the Data Protection (Privacy of Personal Information) Act 2003, personal data can be disclosed under certain circumstances, including without a court order. In particular, the disclosure can be: (i) required by or under any enactment or by a rule of law or order of a court; (ii) required in the interests of protecting the international relations of The Bahamas; (iii) required for safeguarding the security of The Bahamas in the opinion of the Minister or the Minister of National Security; (iv) required for preventing, detecting or investigating offences, apprehending or prosecuting offenders or assessing or collecting any tax, duty or other amounts of money owed or payable to the Government, statutory corporation, public body, or a local authority, in any case in which the application of those restrictions would be likely to prejudice any of the matters aforesaid; among others.

The Electronic Transactions Act of 2003 establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements. According to Art. 19 of the Act, an intermediary shall not be subject to any civil or criminal liability in respect of third-party information contained in an electronic communication for which such intermediary is only providing access and it: (i) has no actual knowledge that the information gives rise to civil or criminal liability; (ii) is not aware of any facts or circumstances from which the likelihood of civil or criminal liability in respect of the information ought reasonably to have been known; (iii) follows the takedown procedure set out in section 20 when acquires knowledge that the information gives rise to civil or criminal liability or becomes aware of facts or circumstances from which the likelihood of civil or criminal liability in respect of the information ought reasonably to have been known.

The Electronic Transactions Act of 2003 establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringement. According to Art. 19 of the Act, an intermediary shall not be subject to any civil or criminal liability in respect of third-party information contained in an electronic communication for which such intermediary is only providing access and it: (i) has no actual knowledge that the information gives rise to civil or criminal liability; (ii)is not aware of any facts or circumstances from which the likelihood of civil or criminal liability in respect of the information ought reasonably to have been known; (iii) follows the takedown procedure set out in section 20 when acquires knowledge that the information gives rise to civil or criminal liability or becomes aware of facts or circumstances from which the likelihood of civil or criminal liability in respect of the information ought reasonably to have been known.

The Bahamas has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Part VII of the Copyright Act of 2024 lists the exceptions, which include: research, private study, and criticism, among others.

The Bahamas has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.