According to Art. 12 of Law No. 09-04 ISPs, internet service providers shall set up technical devices to limit access to distributors containing information contrary to public order or morality and to inform subscribers thereof. They are also obliged to intervene, without delay, to remove the contents to which they authorize access in case of infringement of the law and to make them inaccessible as soon as they become aware of it directly or indirectly. Residents can face criminal charges as provided for in Art. 11 of the law for posting or allowing the posting of certain content.

According to Art. 3 of Law No. 09-04, subject to the legal provisions guaranteeing the secrecy of correspondence and communications, implementation of technical devices carrying out operations of surveillance of electronic communications, collection and recording in real time of their content as well as searches and seizures in a computer system may be carried out for purposes of protection of public order, for investigations or after judicial request. Art. 4 lists instances when such surveillance may be carried out, including:
- to prevent offenses qualified as terrorist or subversive acts and offenses against State security;
- when there is information on a probable attack on a computer system representing a threat to public order, national defence, State institutions or the national economy;
- for the purposes of investigations and judicial information when it is difficult to arrive at results relevant to the research in progress without resorting to electronic surveillance;
- in connection with the execution of requests for international legal assistance.

Algeria has a safe harbour regime in place for intermediaries for copyright infringements. Art. 12 of Law No. 09-04 requires internet service providers to intervene, without delay, to remove the content to which they authorize access in the event of a violation of the laws, store it or make it inaccessible as soon as they become aware of it directly or indirectly.

Algeria has a safe harbour regime in place beyond intermediaries for copyright infringements. Art. 12 of Law No. 09-04 requires internet service providers to intervene, without delay, to remove the content to which they authorize access in the event of a violation of the laws, store it or make it inaccessible as soon as they become aware of it directly or indirectly.

The country has a comprehensive data protection regime in place with Law 18-07 of June 2018.

Art. 11 of Law No. 09-04 requires ICT service providers to store data allowing the identification of users of their services and data enabling the recipient(s) of the communication to be identified as well as the addresses of the sites visited for a period of one year after the registration. This requirement covers all service providers, defined in Art. 2 to include any public or private entity which offers users the possibility of communicating by means of a computer system and/or a telecommunications system; and any other entity processing or storing computer data for communication services or their users.

Art. 10 of Decision No. 48/SP/PC/ARPT/17 provides that in carrying out the activity covered by its authorisation, the service provider is subject to the obligations to establish its infrastructure on national territory and guarantee that it is set up using equipment incorporating the most recent and proven technologies; to guarantee that customer data is hosted and stored on national territory; to provide services via infrastructures specifically declared for this authorisation; to guarantee a back-up solution for data hosted or stored; and to keep a customer identification file.
Service provider refers to any natural or legal person who has been granted authorisation to establish and operate hosting and storage services for computerised content for the benefit of remote users as part of cloud computing services, in compliance with the requirements set out in the legislation and regulations in force.

Art. 44 of Law No. 18-07 provides that the data controller may only transfer personal data to another foreign state upon authorisation of the data protection authority and if that state ensures an adequate level of protection of the privacy and fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals with regard to the processing to which such data are or may be subject. Art. 45, however, provides that, by way of derogation to Art. 44, the data controller may transfer personal data to a foreign State subject to certain conditions, including: if the data subject has expressly consented to their transfer; if the transfer is made pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral agreement to which Algeria is a party; with the authorization of the national authority; if the transfer is necessary: (a) to safeguard that person's life; (b) the preservation of the public interest; (c) compliance with obligations to ensure the recognition, exercise or defense of a legal right; (d) the performance of a contract between the controller processing and the data subject, or measures pre-contractual agreements taken at the latter's request; (e) the conclusion or performance of a contract concluded or to conclude, in the interest of the data subject, between the controller and a third party; (f) the execution of a mutual legal assistance measure international; (g) prevention, diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions.

Within the bilateral and regional treaties signed by Algeria, there is no clause that stipulates that Algeria has binding commitments to open flows of data transfers.

The last paragraph of Art. 44 of Law No. 18-07 forbids, in any case, the communication or transfer of personal data to a foreign country, when this transfer is likely to carry harm to public security or the vital interests of the state.

Art. 9 of the Law No. 18-05 requires any e-commerce activity, which is defined as electronic commerce in goods and services, to have a website hosted in Algeria with a “.com.dz” extension. This requirement applies to both domestic and foreign e-suppliers as clarified in Art. 2, which states that states that the legislation applies to e-commerce transactions where one of the parties to the e-commerce contract is: of Algerian nationality, or legally resides in Algeria, or a legal person governed by Algerian law, or if the contract is concluded or performed in Algeria. Effectively, this means that the requirement to have domain names hosted in Algeria also applies to foreign companies.

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

According to Art. 11 of Law No. 2000-03, 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.

Art. 6 of Decree No. 20-332 establishes that "the online information activity is subject to the publication through an electronic site, whose hosting is exclusively domiciled, physically and logically in Algeria, with a domain name extension ".dz"."

Algeria is home to three mobile phone and data network operators namely Djezzy, Algérie Télécom Mobile, and Wataniya Telecom Algérie. The largest of these by subscriptions is Optimum Télécom Algérie, which operates under the brand name of Djezzy and launched its service in 2002. The parent company of Djezzy, Veon, announced in June 2021 that it would sell its 45.5% stake in Djezzy to the government-controlled Algerian National Investment Fund (Fonds National d'Investissement, FNI). The Algerian government has long held a 51% stake in the company, having paid USD 2.64 billion for it in 2015. The purchase (as finalised in August 2022), made the telco fully state-owned, similar to fixed incumbent Algerie Telecom.