Online safety & content laws in Cape Verde (2026)
Online safety rules in Cape Verde: partial.
Cape Verde has a patchwork of digital laws covering cybercrime, cybersecurity, and data protection, but has no dedicated online safety or platform content-moderation statute comparable to the EU Digital Services Act or the UK Online Safety Act. Intermediary liability for user-generated content is not specifically addressed in law, and there is no mandatory age-verification regime for online platforms beyond the data-protection consent threshold of 16 years. The internet remains open and uncensored, with Cape Verde consistently rated 'Free' by Freedom House.
Legal framework
Cybercrime Law (Law n°8/IX/2017); Cybersecurity Legal Regime (Decree-Law 9/2021); Data Protection Law (Law 133-V/2001, amended 2021); ARME (Agência de Regulação Multissectorial da Economia) as telecom regulator; CNPD (Comissão Nacional de Proteção de Dados) as data-protection authority
Key points: internet & online safety in Cape Verde
Cybercrime Law (2017)
Law n°8/IX/2017 establishes substantive and procedural rules on cybercrime and electronic evidence, closely modelled on Portuguese law and aligned with the Council of Europe Budapest Convention. It covers offences such as illegal access, data interference, and system interference, and grants investigative powers including interception and undercover operations.
Cybersecurity Legal Regime (2021)
Decree-Law 9/2021 (29 January 2021) established the national cybersecurity legal regime, obliging designated entities to adopt legal, organisational, and technical security measures. The same decree created CSIRT.CV, the national Computer Security Incident Response Team.
Data Protection Law (GDPR-aligned, amended 2021)
Cape Verde's Data Protection Law (originally 2001, amended 2021) introduced GDPR-style rights, erasure, portability, restriction, opt-in consent, and extraterritorial scope for controllers processing data of persons in Cape Verde. It sets 16 as the minimum age for data-processing consent and regulates automated decision-making.
No platform/content-moderation law
There is no specific statute governing the liability of hosting services or online platforms for user-generated content. The 2005 Electronic Communications framework (Decree-Law 7/2005) covers intermediate service providers but does not create content-moderation obligations; no DSA-equivalent or proposed online safety bill has been identified.
Budapest Convention accession
Cape Verde's Parliament approved accession to the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime in November 2014 (Resolution 116/VIII/2014) and the country has since ratified it, aligning domestic procedural cybercrime law with the Convention's standards. Cape Verde also signed the Second Additional Protocol (enhanced cross-border electronic evidence cooperation).
Open internet; ARME as telecom regulator
Cape Verde is rated 'Free' by Freedom House with no documented blocking or censorship of online content. The multisectoral regulator ARME (successor to ANAC) oversees spectrum, licensing, and consumer protection in electronic communications, but does not carry an online-safety mandate.
Sources
- coe.int/en/web/octopus/-/cabo-verde
- ictpolicyafrica.org/en/document/gpjxsiscbus
- cmalex.net/cybersecurity-in-cape-verde-a-new-era-of-digital-protection/
- lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=25f79b9c-770b-40ed-97cc-7c179772e440
- dlapiperdataprotection.com/index.html?t=law&c=CV
- dataguidance.com/notes/cape-verde-data-protection-overview
- ibanet.org/document?id=Digital-Regulations-in-the-Metaverse-Era-Cabo-Verde
- freedomhouse.org/country/cabo-verde
- globaledge.msu.edu/global-resources/resource/10668
- rm.coe.int/090000168073ce00
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Next topicOrientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026