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

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

Law No. 28/AN/08/6th L on Protection, Suppression of Fraud and Consumer Protection provides a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions. Art. 2 provides the scope of the Law to apply to all production, distribution and service activities. This law was incorporated into the legal corpus of the Djibouti Commercial Code of 2012.

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

Art. 9 of Act No. 118/An/15/7Th prohibits anyone from offering payment services (which includes electronic payments) or managing a system unless duly authorized to do so by the Central Bank. The Central Bank also has the powers to suspend or revoke the licence under certain circumstances. Art. 81 stipulates additional requirements for e-payment applicants.

Djibouti does not implement any de minimis threshold, which is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties. However, it is reported that there is an informal arrangement of a de minimis of USD 100.

Art. L.1211-6 of the Commercial Code provides that any legal entity whose head office is located abroad and which undertakes a commercial activity in the Republic of Djibouti must, within one month from the start of this activity, require the registration of a branch in Republic of Djibouti. This request is to be filed with the registry responsible for maintaining the Register of Commerce and Companies. The Code defines commercial activity to include e-commerce.

Art. 1 of Law No. 100/An/20/8Th L establishes the Djibouti Standards and Quality Agency (ADN), which ensures the development and approval of standards, the management of metrology-related matters, and the assessment of conformity to standards. However, it is reported that the ADN is not yet operational. In practice, the Sub-Directorate of Quality Control and Standards controls conformity in conjunction with the laboratory of the Djibouti Study and Research Centre (CERD) and issues marketing licences and certificates of conformity with Djiboutian technical regulations for the products concerned, following analyses carried out by CERD.

According to Art. L.1211-16 of the Commercial Code, any natural or legal person (of Djiboutian or foreign nationality) wishing to undertake commercial activities, including imports, is subject to registration in the Register of Commerce, and must register with the Directorate-General of Taxation to obtain an importer's licence.
In addition, Art. 196 provides for the conditions for the issuance or renewal of any import license which must be subject to the production of the relevant proof of insurance document.

It is reported that the government requires that independent news and entertainment platforms receive a special license from the Ministry of Communication and that this procedure makes the usage of social media difficult. It is also reported that the National Communication Commission, a branch of the Ministry of Communication, issues licenses to operate social media accounts and that it is selective in granting such licences.

It is reported that Djibouti has in place import restrictions on transceiver devices which require authorization from the Ministry of Communication in charge of Posts and Telecommunications. A transceiver is a combination transmitter/receiver in a single package. While the term typically applies to wireless communications devices, it can also be used for transmitter/receiver devices in cable or optical fiber systems. For fiber optic transceivers, the most widely used HS Code is 851762, falling under “Machines for the reception, conversion and transmission or regeneration of voice, image or other data, including switching and routing apparatus”, a code included in the original Information Technology Agreement.

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 Djibouti. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

It is reported that all government advertising is carried by the state-controlled media because there is no effective regulation governing the use of advertising in the media.

It is reported that Djibouti’s La Voix de Djibouti (LVD) has its website blocked. Moreover, access to some social media has been restricted.