According to Art. 3 of Order No. 000198 / MENCP / MPMEAC / MEEDD determining the procedure for importing telecommunications equipment into the Gabonese Republic, any import of telecommunications equipment or material, including any transmission medium, except those used for the needs of National Defense and Public Security and those dedicated to the production and programming activities of sound or television broadcasting, is subject to the presentation of a Special Import Authorization (ASI) issued jointly by ARCEP and the General Directorate of Commerce.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 2 in Gabon. This corresponds to "The government shut down domestic access to the Internet several times this year."

It is reported that Gabon's High Authority for Communication (HAC) imposes blocking of news websites and suspension of media outlets. It is reported that the HAC shut down one of Gabon's most popular websites called 'Gabon Media Times' for a month in August 2019 for publishing an article about the shortage of beds in Gabon’s hospitals. Furthermore, in 2018, the Gabonese media regulator suspended a newspaper for three months and banned its editor from working for six months over an article about President Ali Bongo’s health.

It is reported that Gabon imposes an identity requirement for SIM registration. Anyone wanting to purchase a SIM card has to provide their national ID card, or a passport in case of foreigners, to activate a new prepaid SIM card.

Arts. 12 and 16 of the Ordinance Regulating Cybersecurity and the Fight Against Cybercrime require network operators, electronic communication service providers and information system operators to install data traffic monitoring mechanisms in their networks. This data can be accessible during judicial investigations.

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

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

Art. 12 of the Ordinance regulating cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime requires network operators and electronic communication service providers to keep the connection and traffic data in their facilities for a period of ten years. The same requirement applies to information systems operators as per Art. 16. This is despite the sub-regional legislation of CEMAC to which Gabon belongs provides for a maximum period of two years during which the States can allow operators to keep traffic data for security reasons.

Personal data protection is regulated under the Data Protection Law No. 001/2011.

According to Art. 94 of the Data Protection Law, the transfer of personal data to another country is prohibited unless the destination country ensures an adequate level of privacy protection, and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals with regard to the processing operation. Determination of adequacy is a prerogative of the Gabon Data Protection Authority (the Commission Nationale pour la Protection des Données à Caractère Personnel (CNPDCP)), taking into consideration the following factors:
-the legal provisions existing in the country in question;
-the security measures enforced;
-the specific circumstances of the processing (such as the purpose and duration thereof); and
-the nature, origin, and destination of the data.
As an alternative to the 'adequacy' criteria, data controllers may transfer data if the data subject has consented expressly to its transfer; the transfer is necessary to save that person's life; the transfer is necessary to safeguard a public interest; the transfer is necessary to ensure the right of defence in a court of law; or the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between the data subject and the data controller, at the request of the data subject, or for the performance of a contract between the data controller and a third party in the interest of the data subject (Art. 95).

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

Art. 12 of the Ordinance Regulating Cybersecurity and the Fight Against Cybercrime requires electronic communications network operators to have an operational management center for their infrastructures in the national territory.

Art. 47 of Chapter IV of the Data Protection Law prohibits collecting or processing sensitive data (that is, data which reveal racial or ethnic origins, political, philosophical, or religious opinions or trade union membership of data subjects, or which relate to their health or sex life) barring certain exceptions, such as under explicit consent of the data subject as guided by the law, and when it serves the purposes of preservation of life.

Art. 19 of the Ordinance Regulating Cybersecurity and the Fight Against Cybercrime mandates electronic communication network operators and information systems operators to host a copy of their connection and traffic data, in the national territory.

It is reported that the Post and Electronic Communications Regulatory Authority (ARCEP), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.