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.

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.

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

According to Sections 189 and 190 of the Companies Act 2007, a company limited by shares must keep accounting records, including invoices relating to the sale and supply of goods, at its registered office or such other place in Botswana as the company's board shall determine.

Section 20 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) prohibits processing sensitive personal data except under certain circumstances. These include:
- The processing is specifically provided for under the DPA;
- The data subject has given consent in writing;
- The data subject has made the data public;
- The processing is necessary for national security, for the purposes of exercising or performing any right or obligation which is conferred or imposed by law on the data controller in connection with employment, or where the processing is authorised by any other written law for any reason of substantial interest to the public; or
- The processing is necessary to protect the vital interest of a data subject and another person in a case where consent cannot be given by or on behalf of the data subject, the data controller cannot be reasonably expected to obtain consent or the consent by or on behalf of the data subject has been unreasonably withheld.
It is not clear whether a data transfer is considered a form of processing.

Section 48 of the Data Protection Act (DPA) prohibits the transfer of personal data from Botswana to another country unless the personal data is transferred to a third country, which ensures an adequate level of protection. Such level of protection will be assessed by the Commissioner in light of all the circumstances surrounding the data transfer operation in accordance with Sections 49 (1)-(4). Alternatively, the transfer is allowed if there is the consent of the data subject or where the transfer is:
- Necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, or the implementation of pre-contractual measures taken in response to the data subject’s request;
- Necessary for the performance or conclusion of a contract in the interests of the data subject between the data controller and a third party;
- Necessary for the public interest, or for the establishment, exercise or defence of a legal claim;
- Necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject; or
- Made from a register that is intended to provide the public with information and is open to public inspection.

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

Botswana is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Data Protection Act provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Botswana.

Botswana has a copyright regime under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2000. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Section 12 lists the exceptions, which include private reproduction for personal purposes, reproduction for teaching, reprographic reproduction by libraries and archives, reproduction, broadcasting and other communications to the public for information purposes, importation for personal purposes and temporary reproduction, amongst other things. In addition, Section 3 of the Act lists the types of works that would be protected, including computer programs. Furthermore, Section 36 provides that the provisions of any international treaty with respect to copyright and related rights to which Botswana is a party shall apply. Botswana is a signatory to the TRIPS Agreement, which has incorporated the Berne Convention.

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.

Copyright enforcement online in Botswana is inadequate. Reports indicate that piracy and content theft in Botswana primarily take the form of online broadcast piracy, which entails using video and audio content without the permission of the rights holders.

Botswana has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Botswana has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.