Law No-08-PR-2015 establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries beyond copyright infringements. Art. 92 prescribes for immunity of internet intermediaries provided that the service provider: (a) is not the source of the transmission; (b) does not select the recipient of the transmission; (c) does not select or modify the information that is the subject of the transmission. Under Art. 94, an intermediary service provider is not responsible for the information stored at the request of a recipient of the service provided that:
- the service provider has no actual knowledge of the illicit nature of the activity or information
- the service provider, as soon as it has such knowledge, following voluntary checks or based on serious information communicated by a third party, acts promptly to remove the information or to restore access to it impossible.
In addition, when the intermediary service provider becomes aware of the illicit content, Art. 95 mandates that they should communicate it immediately to the certification authority, which in turn approaches the public prosecutor to take necessary measures to seize the data. As long as the judicial authority has not made any decisions on the matter, the service provider can only take measures to prevent access to the information. A similar degree of safe harbour is provided under Art. 55 of Law No. 09 of 2015 on Cybersecurity and the fight against Cybercrime.

According to Art. 95 of Law No. 14 of 2014, telephone operators and internet access providers are required to ensure the identification of their subscribers. If they do not comply, they are liable to the criminal and pecuniary sanctions.

It is reported that, on 19 March 2024, the High Authority for Media and Broadcasting (HAMA) announced the suspension of seven online newspapers. It is also reported that, in August 2023, the authorities suspended the news website Alwihda Info for a period of eight days.

In addition, the indicator "7.2.4 - 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 Chad for the year 2024. This corresponds to "The government shut down domestic access to the Internet several times this year."

Decision No. 055/HAMA/SG/2024 imposes a prohibition on private media outlets from disseminating audio-visual content online, except under narrowly defined conditions. Media entities found to be in breach of these provisions face suspension or revocation of their broadcasting licences. On 20 December 2024, the Supreme Court of Chad issued an order suspending the enforcement of this ban. Nevertheless, by the end of December 2024, the High Authority for Media and Broadcasting (La Haute Autorité des Médias et de l’Audiovisuel, HAMA) had yet to comply with the court’s directive, and the ban remained in effect.

Cryptographic services are under the authority of the National Agency for Computer Security and eCertification (ANSICE). Provision of cryptographic services without licensing, registration or authorisation is a criminal offence under section V of Law No. 009/PR/2015 on Cybersecurity and Cybercrime, punishable by fines in the range of approx. USD 1,830 to 18,300, and/or imprisonment of between one and five years.

According to Order No. 036/MPTIC/SG/2011, specifying rules and procedures for approving telecommunications terminal equipment is subject to obtaining approval issued by the Chadian Telecommunications Regulatory Office (OTRT) (Arts 4(a) and 12(a)).

Chad has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

Chad has a telecommunications authority: Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP). However, it is reported that this entity is not fully independent.

Art. 29 of Law No. 007/PR/2015 on the Protection of Personal Data prohibits the transfer of personal data to a country that is not a member of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) or the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) unless that state ensures a sufficient level of protection of the privacy, freedoms and fundamental rights of individuals. Certain exceptions apply (Arts. 30-33). Before any transfer of personal data abroad, it is required that the data controller informs the regulatory authority, the National Agency for Information Security and Electronic Certification (ANSICE).

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

Chad is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Revised Bangui Agreement is a regional intellectual property law that is not only a regional convention applicable in all member states but also serves as a national intellectual property law in Chad and each of the other member states. The Revised Bangui Agreement contains provisions on copyright in Annex VII: Chapter IV (Limitations to Economic Rights) and establishes a regime of copyright exceptions. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, therefore limiting the lawful use of copyrighted work by others. In addition, Arts. 34-38 of Law No. 005/PR/2003 also provide for limitations on copyright.

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

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