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 defence 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 authorisation (ASI) issued jointly by ARCEP and the General Directorate of Commerce.

Arts. 171 to 174 of Law No. 025/2023 provide that cross-border transfers of personal data from Gabon are, as a general rule, subject to prior authorisation by the national data protection authority, which must ensure that the destination country offers an adequate level of protection for privacy and fundamental rights. This requirement is not absolute: transfers to countries lacking such adequacy may proceed without prior authorisation if the data subject has given explicit consent and the transfer is necessary for specific purposes, including the protection of life, the safeguarding of public interest, compliance with legal obligations, or the performance of a contract. In addtion, the authority or, in certain cases, a government decree may permit transfers based on contractual clauses or internal rules that guarantee sufficient protection. The authority retains the power to prohibit or suspend transfers to jurisdictions failing to meet adequacy standards and to lift such measures once compliance is achieved.
Similar restrictions were already present in the previous Law No. 001/2011, specifically in Arts. 94 to 96, which also regulated international data transfers and imposed conditions.

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

"Law No. 025/2023 of 9 July 2023, amending Law No. 001/2011 of 25 September 2011 on the Protection of Personal Data", provides a comprehensive data protection regime in Gabon. It includes provisions on data subject rights, the obligations of data controllers and processors, and principles of data processing. Gabon first adopted an overarching data protection law in 2011 through Law No. 001/2011, which granted rights of access, objection to processing, rectification, and erasure, and established the national data protection authority with powers to issue warnings, impose three-month activity bans, and levy fines. Privacy and data protection are also addressed under Law No. 26/2018 on the Regulation of Electronic Communications in Gabon.

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, which provides for a maximum period of two years during which the States can allow operators to keep traffic data for security reasons.

Art. 125 of Law No. 025/2023 specifies the circumstances in which the appointment of a data protection officer (DPO) is mandatory: when processing is undertaken by a public authority or body, except for courts acting in a judicial capacity; when the core activities of the controller or processor involve processing operations that, by their nature, scope, or purpose, necessitate regular and systematic large-scale monitoring of data subjects; and when such activities entail large-scale processing of sensitive data or data relating to criminal convictions. Pursuant to Art. 138, the DPO is tasked with ensuring compliance with the law across all processing activities of the appointing entity. In this role, the DPO must inform and advise the controller or processor and relevant staff of their legal obligations; monitor adherence to the law and internal data protection policies, including responsibility allocation, staff awareness, training, and audits; provide opinions on data protection impact assessments and verify their implementation; and cooperate with the APDPVP, including during prior consultations, while offering advice on any related matters as appropriate.

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

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

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.

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

According to Art. 30 of Ordinance No. 00000015/PR/2018 February 2018 regulating cybersecurity and the fight against cybercrime in the Gabonese Republic, the service provider or the person providing or importing a cryptology service has to make it available to the competent cryptology authority a description of the technical characteristics of this means of cryptology, as well as the source code of the software used. Also, following Art. 34, when it appears that the data entered or obtained during the investigation have been the subject of transformation operations preventing unencrypted access or are likely to compromise the information that they contain, the Public Prosecutor, the Examining Magistrate or the trial court may demand any qualified natural or legal person, with a view to carrying out the technical operations making it possible to obtain the unencrypted version of said data.

Gabon does not have comprehensive trade secret legislation. Yet, there are provisions addressing disclosure, acquisition or use of confidential information in the course of industrial or commercial activities by third parties in Art. 6 of Annex VIII of the Bangui Agreement ratified by 17 French-speaking States, including Gabon, since 2002.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Gabon to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

Gabon Telecom SA, the incumbent public operator, is fully owned by the Gabonese state. Gabon Telecom SA is the major supplier of internet access, with around 59% market share (number of subscribers) in 2021.

It is reported that Gabon mandates functional and accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.