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

The Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act provide a comprehensive consumer protection framework that applies to online transactions.

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

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

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

With the exception of goods originating in Malawi, import permits – issued by the Department of International Trade in the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry – are required for goods entering Botswana directly from outside the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU). Any public or private body whose product satisfies all the requirements of a Botswana product standard can apply to the Botswana Bureau of Standards (BOBS) for the product to be certified. Samples of the product are then tested to verify its conformance to the requirements of the product standard, and if the results are acceptable, the product can then obtain the BOBS certification mark.
Regulations 3 and 6 of the Standards (Import Inspection) Regulations of 2008 provide that a compliance certificate should be obtained for all commodities or goods to be imported into Botswana. The imported commodities should either comply with the Bureau standards or international or foreign standards recognised by the Bureau for the compliance certificate to be issued.

According to Art. 5 of the Type Approval Guidelines, type approval applies to anyone who imports, manufactures, uses, or supplies telecommunication or broadcasting equipment for use or sale in Botswana. The person who wants to use or sell this product must register the equipment with Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA), prior to importing, unless the equipment concerned has already been registered in BROCA’s Type Approval Database. According to Art. 6, for registration, the application must be accompanied by a declaration of conformity (DoC) and a full set of test reports confirming compliance with declared conformity. In addition, according to Section 6.5, it is not necessary to submit any other documentation or a sample of the equipment unless requested to do so by BOCRA. As specified in Art. 10, test results must be obtained from a labouratory that has been accredited by a body that is a member of the International labouratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement. Test results should be included with the application unless BOCRA specifically states in writing that test results are not required. The equipment must be tested for compliance with BROCA’s technical specifications (or equivalent) and should cover areas of safety, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), and technical standards. Reference to such compliance must be included in the declaration of conformity submitted with the application.

Act No. 18 of 2024 establishes a comprehensive data protection framework in Botswana, repealing and re-enacting the Data Protection Act of 2018 with substantial amendments. While the 2018 Act regulated data controllers and processors, emphasised consent, and introduced data subject rights alongside restrictions on direct marketing, sensitive data, and cross-border transfers, the 2024 Act expands its scope to include both automated and non-automated processing. It introduces specific provisions for handling sensitive personal data and imposes additional conditions for lawful processing, such as data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, and accountability. In addtion, it mandates Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the appointment of Data Protection Officers (DPOs), and stricter penalties for non-compliance. Although the Act broadly aligns with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it diverges by introducing custodial sentences of three to twelve years for particular offences.

Clause 15.5 of the Service and Application License terms and conditions states that all accounts and records of the licensee providing electronic communication services under the Communications Regulatory Authority Act (No. 19 of 2012) must be kept in secure locations and formats to ensure their preservation. Performance-related data must be retained for at least one year, and all financial records must be retained for at least five years.

Section 69 of Botswana’s Data Protection Act provides that a data controller or data processor is required to appoint a data protection officer (DPO) in circumstances where the processing of personal data is carried out by a public authority or body, excluding courts acting in their judicial capacity; where the core activities of the controller or processor involve processing operations which, by their nature, scope and purpose, necessitate regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale; or where such core activities consist of large-scale processing of sensitive personal data or personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences.
In addition, Section 65 of the Act stipulates that where a type of processing employs new technologies and, considering its nature, scope, context and purpose, is likely to pose a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the data controller must conduct a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) prior to initiating such processing. A DPIA is specifically required in cases involving systematic and extensive evaluation of personal characteristics based on automated processing, including profiling, where such processing results in decisions that produce legal effects or significantly affect the individual; where sensitive personal data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences is processed on a large scale; or where large-scale systematic monitoring of publicly accessible areas is undertaken

Pursuant to Section 14.d of the 2024 Data Protection Act, the Commission is vested with the authority to obtain from data controllers and data processors access to all personal data, as well as any information deemed necessary for the fulfilment of its statutory functions. Such access does not require the issuance of a court order. The 2024 Act repealed the 2018 Data Protection Act, which contained a comparable provision under Section 10.

It is reported that a basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Botswana's law and jurisprudence. Despite Part VIII of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act protects information service providers from any civil or criminal liability with respect to third-party material stored or transmitted on their platforms if they did not contribute to the material, according to Art. 39 of the Act, nothing in the Act shall affect any liability of the service provider under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act in respect of the infringement of copyright in any work or other subject matter in which copyright subsists.

Part VIII of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act protects information services providers from any civil or criminal liability with respect to third-party material stored or transmitted on their platforms if they did not contribute to the material. It is also expected that the information service providers should expeditiously remove or disable access to the infringing content upon receiving a take-down notice.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Botswana to deliver telecom services to end users. Moreover, passive infrastructure sharing is practised in the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

It is reported that Botswana imposes 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, to activate a new prepaid SIM card. According to Art. 6 of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority Act, the Board of the Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority is responsible for regulating SIM card registration.