Egypt has a telecommunications authority: The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA). However, it is reported that the decision-making process of this entity is not fully independent from the government.

According to Art. 16 of the Resolution of the Council of Ministers No. 418 of 2020 Issuing Executive Regulations for Law No. 180 of 2018 on Press, Media and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, all companies having a licence from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCoM) to operate and distribute recorded or live content in Egypt, whether through satellite or the internet, are required to store all content for at least one year in a server that is located at a secure location in Egypt. The location may not be changed without prior approval from the SCoM.

Art. 35 of Egypt's Media Law No. 180 of 2018 and Arts. 5 and 16 of its executive regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 418 of 2020) stipulate that newspapers must be printed in presses inside the Arab Republic of Egypt and a backup of the electronic servers hosting their electronic copies must be located in a place specified by the newspaper within the Arab Republic of Egypt, provided that it is safe and known to the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR).

Egypt has a copyright regime under the law Law No. 82 of 2002. However, the exceptions in the regime do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. Art. 171 lists the exceptions, which include making an analysis of the work, or excerpts or quotations therefrom, for the purpose of criticism, discussion or information; the reproduction, if necessary for teaching purposes in educational institutes, of an article, a short work or extracts therefrom; among others.

Art. 16 of the Executive regulation (Cabinet Resolution No. 418 of 2020) relating to Law No. 180 of 2018 Regulating the Press, Media, and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCMR) requires media outlets and websites to have a backup of their electronic servers within the Arab Republic of Egypt, provided that it is safe and known to the SCMR. The term “media” is defined as “any terrestrial or satellite television channel, or wired, wireless or electronic radio station”.

Despite efforts by the government to enforce Egypt's Intellectual Property Law and its executive regulations, it is reported that piracy and counterfeiting remain prevalent. This includes widespread piracy of books, music, and entertainment software, particularly online, as well as illegal distribution of films on regional satellite channels. Additionally, numerous unlicensed satellite channels offer pirated broadcasts, and there are instances of unlawful decryption of encrypted signals.

Art. 14 of Law No. 151 of 2020 on Personal Data Protection prohibits the transfer of personal data to a foreign country unless the laws of the foreign country guarantee a minimum level of protection that is equal to the level stipulated by Egyptian law. Moreover, the transfer of data abroad requires an authorisation or a license from the Data Protection Centre. Art. 15 enumerates several specific exceptions to the obligation of Art. 14 subject to the express consent of the person concerned with the data or his representative.

Egypt has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

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

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

Law on the Protection of Personal Data provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Egypt. The law has similarities with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) and includes data subject rights, data controller and processor obligations, and strict conditions for data transfers to foreign countries.

Law No. 180 of 2018 imposes ownership conditions on foreigners. Art. 52 provides, with respect to media and websites that act as electronic backers for media outlets and websites in general, that non-Egyptian shareholders, who are natural or legal persons, may not own a majority of the shares or grant them the right of the management. The term “media” is defined as “any terrestrial or satellite television channel, or wired, wireless or electronic radio station”. Non-Egyptian providers may be licensed to operate in Egypt, provided approval is obtained from the Supreme Council for Media Regulation (SCoM). This approval requires operating inside a specific media area and the ability to block any content involving, among other things, violence, suicide, self-injury or nudity.

Law No. 180 of 2018 imposes ownership conditions on foreigners. Art. 36 establishes, in the case of newspapers and websites that act as electronic backers for paper newspapers, that non-Egyptian shareholders, who are natural or legal persons, may not own a percentage of the shares that entitle them to the right of the management.

The Law No. 10 of 2003 sets restrictions on Telecom Egypt, which is the monopoly operator of the fixed internet services and infrastructure market. Art. 63 stipulates that the shares of Telecom Egypt can be offered for sale at a partial value of the Company capital upon a decree from the Cabinet with the condition that the greater part of the capital remains State-owned.

Law No. 34 of 1976 and its amendments of the years 1996 and 2020 stipulate that legal persons (Natural persons and various forms of Companies) wishing to engage in trade activities in Egypt must be entered into the commercial register (Art. 2). Those to be registered must be of Egyptian nationality and have obtained approval to practice trade from the competent Chamber of Commerce (Art. 3). As an exception to the rule in Article 2, foreigners can be registered in the Commercial Register in a number of cases, among these is when the foreigner is a partner in a company of persons, provided that at least one of the general partners is Egyptian and that the Egyptian partner(s) own 51% of the company's capital and has the right to manage and sign (Art. 4.2).