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Online safety & content laws in Dominican Republic (2026)

Online safety rules in Dominican Republic: partial.

The Dominican Republic regulates online safety through a patchwork of laws covering cybercrime, data protection, and telecommunications, but has no single comprehensive online-safety or platform-accountability statute in force. President Abinader submitted a draft Organic Law on Freedom of Expression, Audiovisual Media and Digital Platforms to Congress in May 2025, which would introduce transparency obligations for large platforms and establish a new independent regulator (INACOM); as of mid-2026 the bill remains in the legislative process. The internet is generally open and not subject to systematic state censorship.

Last verified Official sources first · MethodologyCompare Dominican Republic with other countries

Legal framework

Law No. 53-07 on High Technology Crimes and Offenses (2007); Law No. 172-13 on Personal Data Protection (2013); Law No. 153-98 General Telecommunications Law; Organic Law on Freedom of Expression, Audiovisual Media and Digital Platforms (proposed, submitted to Congress May 2025)

Key points: internet & online safety in Dominican Republic

  1. Cybercrime law (53-07)

    Law No. 53-07 (2007) is the primary instrument addressing online harms, criminalising illegal system access, data interception, identity theft, electronic fraud, and online child sexual abuse material; it created specialist enforcement units DICAT and the National Police Cybercrime Division.

    oas.org internal.dominicana.gob.do

  2. No comprehensive platform/online-safety law

    No unified statute equivalent to the EU Digital Services Act or UK Online Safety Act is in force; online-service regulation is distributed across Law 53-07, Law 126-02 (Electronic Commerce), and Law 153-98 (Telecommunications), leaving gaps on content moderation and platform accountability.

    lexology.com digitalaction.co

  3. Proposed Freedom of Expression & Platforms Law (2025)

    The Executive submitted the Organic Law on Freedom of Expression, Audiovisual Media and Digital Platforms to Congress on 2 May 2025. It would require large platforms to be transparent about automated moderation systems, offer users meaningful appeals, and comply with human-rights standards; non-compliant platforms face sanctions.

    dominicantoday.com latamjournalismreview.org

  4. Proposed platform liability safe harbour

    Under the draft law, platforms such as Meta, X, and Google would not be held liable for third-party content if they demonstrate swift removal of illegal material including hate speech, racism, and incitement to violence, a notice-and-takedown model rather than proactive monitoring.

    digitalaction.co monitor.civicus.org

  5. INACOM regulator (proposed)

    The draft law proposes creating the National Institute of Communication (INACOM) as an autonomous body to oversee media and digital-platform compliance; civil society critics warn the regulator's broad sanctioning powers, including authority to suspend broadcasts, risk indirect censorship.

    monitor.civicus.org latamjournalismreview.org

  6. No age-verification or internet censorship regime

    No specific statutory age-verification obligations for online platforms are currently in force. The internet operates without systematic state-level content blocking; Freedom House characterises the Dominican Republic as 'Free' in its global assessments, though self-censorship among journalists is noted as a concern.

    freedomhouse.org lexology.com

Timeline of decisions

  1. Law
    Executive Submits Organic Law on Freedom of Expression and Audiovisual Media to Senate

    President Abinader presented a revised draft Organic Law on Freedom of Expression and Audiovisual Media to the Senate, proposing the creation of INACOM (National Institute of Communication) as an autonomous digital-platform regulator with transparency and content-moderation obligations. The Dominican Bar Association and press-freedom groups raised concerns about potential censorship and concentration of regulatory power.

    LatAm Journalism Review – Knight Center

Sources

  1. oas.org/juridico/PDFs/repdom_ley5307.pdf
  2. internal.dominicana.gob.do/index.php/seguridad-y-delito-electronico
  3. lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=a0bd6313-6681-4b93-9b1b-b3ef4151b707
  4. digitalaction.co/challenging-big-tech-power-dominican-republics-move-toward-rights-bas
  5. dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2025/05/02/abinader-submits-bill-to-regulate-freedom-of-expr
  6. latamjournalismreview.org/articles/dominican-lawmakers-and-society-split-on-bill-regulating-fre
  7. monitor.civicus.org/explore/dominican-republic-introduces-updated-freedom-of-expression-d
  8. freedomhouse.org/country/dominican-republic/freedom-world/2025

Next for Dominican Republic: CybersecuritySectoral rules

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Orientation, not legal advice: verify against the primary sources linked above. Last verified 24 May 2026. Methodology & how to cite · State of Technology Regulation 2026