A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Ecuador's law and jurisprudence.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Ecuador's law and jurisprudence.

According to Art. 5 of the Telecommunications and value-added services subscriber regulation, the registration of cell phones and SIM cards using a national ID is mandatory.

According to Art. 98 of the Organic Law on Communication, all the advertising that is disseminated in Ecuadorian territory through the media must be produced in Ecuadorian territory by Ecuadorian natural persons or foreigners residing in Ecuador or produced abroad by Ecuadorian persons residing abroad or foreign legal entities whose ownership of the majority of the share package corresponds to Ecuadorians and whose payroll for its realisation and production is made up of at least 80% of Ecuadorian nationals. In addition, the importation of advertising pieces produced outside the country by foreign companies is prohibited, with the exception of what is established regarding foreign legal entities, with a majority of shares owned by Ecuadorians. According to the same article, advertising production is understood as television and movie commercials, radio spots, photographs for static advertising, or any other audiovisual piece used for advertising purposes.
Art. 55 of the General Regulations of the Organic Law on Communication clarifies that "national" advertisements encompass those produced in countries with which Ecuador has signed an integration treaty. Although the regulation does not explicitly define what constitutes an integration treaty, it has been reported that the private sector interprets this provision as a relaxation of the advertising rules stipulated by the Law. This interpretation suggests that advertising produced in member countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) — comprising Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia — as well as the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) — including Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Peru, and Suriname — may be disseminated within Ecuador.

It is reported that in 2018, the local regulator Telecommunication Regulation and Control Agency (ARCOTEL) expressed interest in conducting in-country testing and homologation certification, with the goal of becoming the exclusive homologation lab for Ecuador, which means all manufacturers need to have their products certified in Ecuador, and certifications from internationally recognised homologation labs would no longer be recognised. However, according to Art. 17 of the Regulation for approval and certification of telecommunications terminal equipment, the homologation of terminal equipment issued by other countries may be recognised by ARCOTEL as long as there are cooperation or mutual recognition agreements. The following products require ARCOTEL’s approval: terminals for Advanced Mobile Service (SMA); terminals for the Carrier Service (P); terminals for the Fixed Telephone Service (STF); terminals for the Telecommunications Satellite Service (TTS); terminals for Internet Access (AI); terminals for the Trunked Service (T); terminals for Community Service (C).

Art. 10.11.2 of the Economic Complementation Agreement No. 75 between the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Ecuador provides that each Party shall permit the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, including personal information, where such activity is for the conduct of the business of a person of a Party. In addition, Art. 10.12.2 states that a Party may not require a person of the other Party to use or locate computer facilities in the territory of that Party as a condition of doing business in that territory.

The Organic Law on the Protection of Personal Data provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Ecuador. This is the first specific legal regulation about personal data protection. The law, among other things, sets out data security obligations, introduces data subject rights, establishes safeguards, including obligations to guarantee fair and responsible data processing, and requires that personal data databases be registered. It is reported that the appointment of the person who will head the Personal Data Protection Authority, known as the Data Protection Superintendency, is still pending. The issuance of the General Regulation was made through Executive Decree 904. In addition, there are data protection provisions contained within the following laws:
- Organic Law on Transparency and Access to Public Information 2004 regulates publicly available data and the management of credit information;
- Organic Law on Telecommunications 2015, which regulates telecommunications operators;
- Labour Code 2005, which contains the duty of employers to protect the personal information of their employees;
- Health Law 2006, which establishes the duty of people involved in the healthcare industry to protect confidential health information;
- Monetary and Financial Code, which includes dispositions regarding data protection in all financial transactions; and
- Law of the National System of Registration of Public Data includes general provisions related to public data protection.
Also, the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador 2008 provides for the right to privacy concerning an individual's data.

According to Art. 42 of the Personal Data Protection Law, the controller shall perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) when its data processing has been identified as a high risk to the rights and freedoms of the data subject by its nature, context or purposes.

According to Art. 48 of the Personal Data Protection Law, the Data Protection Officer must be appointed in the following cases:
- When the processing is carried out by those who make up the public sector in accordance with the provisions of Art. 225 of the Constitution;
- When the activities of the person responsible or in charge of the processing of personal data require a permanent and systematised control due to the volume, nature, scope, or purposes of the processing, as established in this law, the regulations thereof, or in the regulations issued in this regard by the Superintendency;
- When there is large-scale processing of special categories of data, in accordance with the provisions of the regulations of this law;
- When the processing does not refer to data related to national security and defence of the State that are confidential or secret, in accordance with the provisions of the specialised regulations on the matter.

Chapter VII of the Intellectual Property Law safeguards undisclosed information, including trade secrets, industrial secrets, and other forms of confidential information, against unauthorised acquisition, use, or disclosure by third parties. Additionally, Art. 545 of the Organic Code on the Social Economy of Knowledge, Creativity, and Innovation addresses the concept of trade secrets. Furthermore, Art. 40 of the Regulation on the Social Economy of Knowledge Organic Code also references "Undisclosed Information."

There is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Ecuador to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised both in the mobile and fixed sectors. The Organic Communication Law and complementary technical regulations are the theoretical frameworks for passive infrastructure sharing in Ecuador. According to Art. 3 of the Technical Standard for Shared Use of Physical Infrastructure of the General Telecommunications Regime Services, services providers related to the telecommunications sector have the obligation to share their physical infrastructure.

According to Art. 313 of the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador 2008, the State reserves the right to administer, regulate, control, and manage strategic sectors, including telecommunications. Furthermore, according to Arts. 316 of the Constitution of the State and 14. of the Organic Law on Communications, public telecommunications services are provided directly by the State, through public telecommunications companies, or indirectly through delegation to mixed economy companies in which it has a majority shareholding.

The Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (National Corporation of Telecommunications) is the dominant provider of fixed telecommunication services and is fully owned by the Ecuadorian Government. It was created by Executive Decree No. 218, which specifically establishes that the Ministry of Telecommunications and the Information Society, representing the State, is the sole shareholder.
La Empresa Pública Municipal de Telecomunicaciones, Agua Potable, Alcantarillado y Saneamiento de Cuenca (Etapa EP, Municipal Public Company of Telecommunications, Drinking Water, Sewage and Sanitation of Cuenca), created by a January 2010 ordinance, is another case in which the telecom operator is a state-owned enterprise. Initially created in February 1948 as Empresa Municipal de Electricidad, Agua Potable y Teléfonos (EMLAT), ETAPA EP provides municipal internet and fixed, wireless and public telephone services.

It is reported that Ecuador does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, it is reported that there is an obligation of accounting separation.

Art. 34 of Ecuador’s Organic Telecommunications Law requires telecommunications suppliers with at least a 30% market share to pay 0.5% of their gross revenue to the government and an additional 1% of their gross revenue for each additional 5% market share they hold above 30%. However, Corporación Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (CNT), which is owned by the government, is not included in the calculation of market share and is exempt from the fees.
CNT is the dominant provider of fixed telecommunications services and is the second-largest supplier of subscription television services. In addition to the fee exemption, the government of Ecuador maintains policies that favour CNT over other competitors, including exemptions from paying certain license taxes and fees.