The European Union and Malta have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. Malta transposed the Directive through the Act No. XXIX of 2018 - Trade Secrets Act, 2018.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated in Malta, and it is practised in mobile based on commercial agreements. In addition, Art. 3.2 of the Directive 2014/61/EU establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator must meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

Both accounting and functional separation of significant market power (SMP)/ dominant network operators are mandated. Functional separation is only applicable when all other SMP remedies are deemed to be ineffective. As such, no operator with SMP is currently liable for such a remedy. An obligation of functional separation applies to vertically integrated undertakings to place activities related to the wholesale provision of relevant access products in an independently operating business entity. Such business entity shall supply access products and services to all undertakings, including to other business entities within the parent company, on the same timescales, terms and conditions, including those relating to price and service levels, and by means of the same systems and processes.

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

The Malta Gaming Authority imposes real-time replication in a local server of "regulatory data" in the gaming sector in their Technical Infrastructure Guidelines (Guideline 3.2). Regulatory data is composed of player details, financial transactions, and game-play transactions.

The Malta Financial Services Authority has imposed in R3-3.5.2.1.6 of its Virtual Financial Assets Rulebook (Chapter 3 of the Virtual Financial Assets Rules for VFA Services Providers) a requirement for licence holders to ensure that its IT infrastructure is located in Malta and/or any other European Economic Area member state, and/or any other third country jurisdiction wherein the Authority is satisfied that the IT infrastructure ensures the integrity and security of any data stored therein; availability, traceability and accessibility of data; and privacy and confidentiality. This shall apply to virtual financial asset (VFA) service providers licensed in terms of the Virtual Financial Assets Act and applicants seeking to license as VFA service providers under the Act, as applicable.

In March 2023, Malta's Information Technology Agency (MITA) blocked TikTok on all government-issued devices, citing concerns over data security and potential espionage risks associated with the Chinese-owned app. MITA highlighted risks such as data gathering, possible software tampering, and manipulation of content designed to influence public opinion. While the app is blocked on official devices, access via web browsers remains possible for certain users, raising questions about the effectiveness of the ban.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In Malta, the Directive has been transposed with the Law LN 351 of 2016 - Public Procurement of Entities operating in the Water, Energy, Transport and Postal Services Sectors Regulations, 2016.

It is reported that there are no specific restrictions on foreign ownership or control nor sectoral limitations.

According to Art. 11 and the Schedule of Act No. LX of 2020, foreign direct investments in the areas of communications, media, data processing or storage, access to sensitive information, including personal data, or the ability to control such information, critical technologies and dual-use items or the freedom and pluralism of the media are subject to screening.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 20, below the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Mali does not have a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions. According to Art. 2 of Law No. 2015-036 on Consumer Protection, the law does not include the protection of consumers for goods and services online.