Art. 38 of Law No. 24.001 stipulates that every data controller must designate a data protection officer, tasked with ensuring compliance with the obligations set forth in the Law. Pursuant to Art. 40, only individuals residing within the territory of the Central African Republic who possess the requisite knowledge and qualifications to discharge their functions may be appointed as such officers.

It is reported that a basic legal framework for intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in The Central African Republic's law and jurisprudence.

It is reported that a basic legal framework for intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in The Central African Republic's law and jurisprudence.

According to Art. 61 of Law No. 18.002, telecom operators must identify all their subscribers. It is reported that there has been an identity requirement for SIM cards since 2014.

The CAR has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Central African Republic does not have a comprehensive framework that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some related issues. The country has established provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including the Central African Republic since 2002.

Arts. 35 and 42 of Law No. 18.002 and Decree No. 9.042 set an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the Central African Republic to deliver telecom services to end users.

It is reported that the government owns 60% of Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunications (SOCATEL) stock. SOCATEL is the leading telecommunications and Internet service provider in the Central African Republic.

According to Law No. 18.002, the regulatory authorities may impose accounting separation concerning certain activities in the field of interconnection and/or access for the dominant operator (Art. 50). It is also reported that the Central African Republic imposes functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector.

The CAR has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

According to Art. 2 of Law No. 17-020, the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Art. 21 of Law No. 24.001 stipulates that the controller of a data processing operation may transfer personal data to a foreign state only if the receiving state possesses legislation that guarantees a level of protection equivalent to that established by this law. Moreover, the transfer of personal data to a country that does not provide an equivalent level of protection may be permitted as an exception under specific conditions, including when the data subject, having been informed of the absence of such protection, has explicitly and unequivocally consented to the proposed transfer.

CAR has not signed any agreement with binding commitments on data transfer across-border.

Law No. 24.001 establishes a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of personal data in the Central African Republic. In addition to this general regime, sector-specific legislation governs data protection within the telecommunications sector. Notably, Law No. 18.002 of 17 January 2018, which regulates electronic communications, includes explicit provisions concerning the protection of users’ privacy in relation to electronic communication networks and services (Arts. 112–115), as well as the safeguarding of personal data (Arts. 116–126).

According to Art. 4 of Law No. 16-006 on the Commercial Code in the CAR, any commercial company with foreign capital should have prior approval unless its head office is established in the CAR and at least 51% of the capital is effectively or indirectly held by natural persons of Central African nationality. Art. 17 stipulates that if the planned activity is subject to specific regulations, authorisation can only be given after a favourable technical opinion from the Ministry responsible for the activity.