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

Haiti enacted the Electronic Transactions Act, drawing upon the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Haiti has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures. Nevertheless, electronic signatures are regulated under Haiti’s Electronic Signature Act of 2017.

It is reported that the type approval procedure in Haiti is administered by the Conseil National des Télécommunications (CONATEL). All new models of telecommunications equipment intended for use in the national territory, as well as imported telecommunications equipment, are subject to CONATEL’s type approval and related inspection and registration controls, which cover products using radio-frequency and cellular technologies.
The type approval process reportedly comprises the following steps: (1) submission of an application to CONATEL together with the required documentation and technical specifications for the device; (2) payment of the applicable type approval fees; (3) provision of conformity evidence, commonly including EU/FCC technical documentation (TCF) and accredited test reports, and, where requested, submission of a product sample for verification; (4) completion of the authority’s technical assessment and issuance of a positive conformity outcome; and (5) registration of the device with CONATEL and issuance of the type approval (homologation) certificate, enabling the importation, use, and sale of the device in Haiti.

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

Haiti lacks a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions.

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

Haiti has a telecommunications authority: the Conseil National des Télécommunications. However, it is reported that this entity's decision-making process is not fully independent of the government.

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

Haiti does not have a comprehensive data protection regime in place.

It is reported that the Executive Body of the National Telecommunications Council (CONATEL) has instructed the relevant parties to facilitate the installation of TABS servers for the collection of call data records (CDR) and the generation of traffic reports on time division multiplexing (TDM) by the network operating centre. The head of CONATEL has further ordered that the decryption key enabling access to and interpretation of the CDR be placed at its disposal. These measures were undertaken by the Haitian authorities pursuant to Art. 21 of the Decree of 12 October 1977, which stipulates that all telecommunications services are required to collaborate with the State in the manner defined by the decree and its implementing regulations and to facilitate the supervision incumbent upon the State.

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

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

Under CONATEL Décision No. OE-CNT-DEC20130004, telecom operators must ensure that purchasers of pre-activated SIM cards can be identified, either directly or through a seller accountable for verifying the purchaser’s identity. The identification obligation applies at activation/commissioning, and operators must maintain a database containing the legal identification details of all users or subscribers for each number in service.

It is reported that Natcom S.A. has been the largest telecom provider in Haiti since 2010, with a 30% market share. Natcom is a joint venture between the Haitian government and the Vietnamese company Viettel. The latter owns 60% of the enterprise, while the Haitian government owns the remaining 40%.