The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) serves as the communications regulator of the State of Qatar and was established under Emiri Decree No. 42 of 2014. The CRA oversees the regulation of the telecommunications and information technology sectors, the postal sector, and access to digital media. It has been reported that the CRA operates independently from the government in its decision-making processes.

Qatar has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

Law No. 13 of 2016 Concerning Privacy and Protection of Personal Data establishes a comprehensive framework for data protection in Qatar. It applies to personal data that is received, collected, extracted, and/or processed through electronic or traditional means, and adheres to universal data protection principles. Additionally, a separate legal regime for data privacy operates within the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), where the primary data protection legislation applicable is the Data Protection Regulations 2021.

Art. 21 of Law No. 14 of 2014 Promulgating the Cybercrime Prevention Law stipulates that service providers are required to retain subscriber information for a period of one year. In addition, they must promptly and temporarily preserve information technology data, traffic data, or content information for a duration of 90 days, which may be renewed upon request by the competent authority or the investigative and judicial bodies. Service providers are also obliged to furnish the competent authority or the judicial and investigative authorities with all data and information, pursuant to orders issued by the Public Prosecution. Also, they must cooperate with and assist the competent authority in the collection or recording of electronic data, information, and traffic data, in accordance with judicial orders.
Under Art. 1, a service provider is defined as any natural or legal person, whether public or private, that offers subscribers services enabling communication through information technology or the processing and storage of data.

Art. 11.1 of Law No. 13 of 2016 Concerning Privacy and Protection of Personal Data stipulates that data controllers must review privacy protection measures prior to initiating any new processing operations. The "Data Privacy Impact Assessment (DPIA) - Guidelines for Regulated Entities" clarify that compliance with Art. 11.1 entails the obligation for controllers to conduct a DPIA before processing personal data. In addition, Section 5 of the Guidelines specifies that a DPIA should be undertaken prior to implementing any new form of personal data processing or introducing a material modification to an existing processing activity.

Art. 18 of Law No. 13 of 2016 Concerning Privacy and Protection of Personal Data permits the competent authorities to process personal data without complying with Arts. 4, 9, 15, and 17 when acting to safeguard national and public security, protect the State’s international relations, preserve its economic or financial interests, or prevent and investigate criminal offences. These exemptions relieve obligations to establish a lawful basis for processing, provide prior notice to individuals, and adhere to special provisions for children’s data. Given that “processing” is broadly defined in Art. 1 to include activities such as collection, receipt, and retrieval, the scope of these exemptions is extensive. Section 3 of the "Exemptions Applicable to Competent Authorities (under Article 18) - Guideline for Regulated Entities" clarifies that they apply to all competent authorities, including government agencies, state-owned entities, and regulatory bodies, but not to the data protection regulator. Neither the Law nor the Guideline imposes any requirement for a judicial warrant or court order to invoke these exemptions.

Decree Law No. 16 of 2010 on the Promulgation of the Electronic Commerce and Transactions Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements.
Under Arts. 45–48, electronic commerce service providers enjoy limited liability for intermediary activities, including transmission, caching, and hosting, provided specific conditions are met. Liability exemptions apply when providers act as mere conduits, without initiating transmissions, selecting recipients, or modifying content, and when any storage is purely transient. Caching is similarly protected if undertaken solely to enhance efficiency, provided the provider complies with access and update rules, refrains from altering content, and removes or disables access promptly upon obtaining actual knowledge of unlawful material. Hosting services are likewise exempt where the provider lacks actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and acts expeditiously to remove or disable access once notified, so long as the user is not operating under the provider’s authority.

Decree Law No. 16 of 2010 on the Promulgation of the Electronic Commerce and Transactions Law establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements.
Under Arts. 45–48, electronic commerce service providers enjoy limited liability for intermediary activities, including transmission, caching, and hosting, provided specific conditions are met. Liability exemptions apply when providers act as mere conduits, without initiating transmissions, selecting recipients, or modifying content, and when any storage is purely transient. Caching is similarly protected if undertaken solely to enhance efficiency, provided the provider complies with access and update rules, refrains from altering content, and removes or disables access promptly upon obtaining actual knowledge of unlawful material. Hosting services are likewise exempt where the provider lacks actual knowledge of illegal activity or information and acts expeditiously to remove or disable access once notified, so long as the user is not operating under the provider’s authority.

Qatar has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Qatar has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Law No. 5 of 2005 on Protection of Trade Secrets provides a framework for effective protection of trade secrets.

Section 20 of the Telecommunications Law requires service providers, upon receiving a written request from another provider, to negotiate in good faith to conclude an agreement granting access to telecommunications facilities, including offices, equipment sites, towers, poles, lines, and underground infrastructure, where necessary and reasonable to enable service provision. Complementing this, Section 9 of the Passive Civil Infrastructure Access Regulation mandates that, when deploying new passive civil infrastructure, an access provider must offer the access seeker the option of a joint-investment agreement governing the construction and shared use of such infrastructure. Under Section 1, passive civil infrastructure encompasses physical or supporting facilities deemed bottleneck facilities - those that cannot feasibly be substituted economically or technically within a reasonable timeframe or are essential to ensuring fair competition. The Regulation further defines an access provider as any entity owning, constructing, or controlling such infrastructure, and an access seeker as a licensed service provider.

Qatar’s telecommunications market is served by two operators: Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar. As of 2024, Ooredoo Qatar dominates both the mobile and fixed-line segments and is 68% owned by Qatari government entities. Vodafone Qatar, the country’s second telecommunications provider, is also majority government-owned, with Qatari public entities, primarily the Qatar Foundation, holding approximately 91% of its shares.

It is reported that Qatar does not impose a requirement for functional separation on operators possessing significant market power (SMP) within the telecommunications sector. Nevertheless, an obligation for accounting separation has been in effect since November 2006. Art. 33 of Decree-Law No. 34 of 2006, Promulgating the Telecommunications Law (مرسوم بقانون رقم (34) لسنة 2006 بإصدار قانون الاتصالات) stipulates that the Secretariat-General can require any operator with SMP to adopt accounting separation if it determines that the implementation of accounting separation between different categories of activities and services constitutes an effective and necessary mechanism to prevent anti-competitive behaviour or to regulate tariffs and pricing.

According to Art. 9 of the Telecommunications Law, the provision of public telecommunications services or the operation of public telecommunications networks without a licence is prohibited. Two types of licences are established - Individual and Class - and the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) is responsible for administering the licensing process.
Art. 8 of the Executive By-Law (Board Resolution No. 1 of 2009) further requires the CRA to publish on its website the licensing criteria, procedures, basic terms, and expected decision timelines. In practice, the CRA fulfils these obligations through publicly available licence instruments and criteria, with eligibility requirements determined on a case-by-case basis. Nevertheless, there have been reports of potential restrictions on foreign investment. In fact, only Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar currently hold individual licences, and these companies are both majority state-owned.