The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Federal Act of 8 March 1979, Establishing Provisions for the Protection of Consumers (Consumer Protection Law).

Austria has not signed the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Austria has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

Austria has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.
Safe harbours for intermediaries of the e-Commerce Directive are incorporated into Austrian national law by the e-Commerce Act. Section V of the legislation provides for an exclusion from the liability regime, under certain circumstances, for:
- Mere access providers (Section 13).
- Search engine services (Section 14).
- Caching providers (Section 15).
- Hosting providers (Section 16).
- Link providers (Section 17).

The Directive 2000/31/EC (E-Commerce Directive) is the legal basis governing the liability of Internet Services Providers (ISPs) in the EU Member States and includes a conditional safe harbour. Not all Member States have transposed the relevant articles consistently, leading to divergent national case law that could cause legal insecurity on an EU level.
Safe harbours for intermediaries of the e-Commerce Directive are incorporated into Austrian national law by the e-Commerce Act. Section V of the legislation provides for an exclusion from the liability regime, under certain circumstances, for:
- Mere access providers (Section 13).
- Search engine services (Section 14).
- Caching providers (Section 15).
- Hosting providers (Section 16).
- Link providers (Section 17).

According to the Ordinance of the Federal Minister of Transport, Innovation and Technology on the procedures for identifying participants (Federal Law Bulletin II No. 7/2019), all mobile value cards in Austria must be registered. It is mandatory to register the following data: first name, last name, academic degree and date of birth. Customers can register in person with their mobile operator, for which an official ID is necessary. It is also possible to register online, which requires the customer to take a photo of themselves and their ID. Holders of an Austrian bank account can also register via said account. Companies must register through an authorised representative who must submit a suitable document from the company register.

The Communication Platforms Act, which went into effect in October 2020, requires online social media platforms with more than 100,000 users in Austria and annual revenue of at least Eur 500 million (approximately USD 560 million) in Austria to establish a complaints department with a streamlined procedure for managing hate speech posts. The law applies to a catalogue of 15 criminal offences, including hate speech, coercion, stalking and the degradation of religious teachings. Platforms must provide a reporting function for this illegal content and react immediately to notifications. If the content is obviously illegal for legal laypersons, it must be blocked within 24 hours after the notification. If the illegality is not that obvious, the platform can take a maximum of 7 days to respond. The law allows individuals to sue in court to compel platforms to immediately delete content ruled as hate speech. Media platforms and communication forums that are “directly linked to journalistic activity” are exempt from the new law. Online information services, such as Wikipedia and online retail services, are also exempt.

Art. 17 of Directive 2019/790 on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (DSM Directive) mandates that providers of content-sharing services seek authorisation from rights holders and implement technical solutions to remove and prevent unauthorised uploads by their users (so-called upload filters), under penalty of losing their liability safe harbour. Further arrangements are envisaged for complaints and dispute resolution mechanisms. Such upload filters are reported to be a significant cost for online platforms. Graduated exemptions are expected to be put in place for new providers active in the EU for less than three years, with a turnover under EUR 10 million and with fewer than five million users. The provision is subject to a challenge in the Court of Justice by Poland (C-401/19).
To implement Directive 2019/790, the Federal Council has adopted the Copyright Amendment 2021 that amends the Copyright Act (Urheberrechtsgesetz – UrhG), therefore making online content-sharing service providers partially liable for copyright violations on their platforms. In addition, according to Section 81 of the Act, the intermediary can be sued for injunctive relief in certain cases.

The EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS) covers traditional broadcasting services as well as audiovisual media services provided on-demand, including via the Internet. Art. 13.1 provides for Member States to secure a minimum 30% share of European works in the catalogues as well as "ensuring prominence" of those works. "Prominence" involves promoting European works by facilitating access to such works using any appropriate means to ensure their prominence. The Directive has been implemented by Member States in different ways, ranging from very extensive and detailed measures to a mere reference to the general obligation to promote European works.
In Austria, the EU Directive was transposed into domestic law through the amendment of the Audiovisual Media Services Act of January 2021 (Federal Law Gazette I No. 150/2020). According to Art. 40 of the Act, providers of on-demand audiovisual media services must ensure that, on average, at least 30% of the titles in their catalogues over a calendar year are European works. Additionally, these European works must be prominently highlighted compared to other content in the catalogue, using clear labelling. Austria has not introduced financial contribution obligations for VOD service providers.

Austria's main telecommunications provider is Telekom Austria AG. It is reported that ÖBAG owns 28.42% of the shares of Telekom Austria AG. ÖBAG is short for Österreichische Beteiligungs AG (Austrian Holding Corporation), which is a state-owned company wholly owned by the Austrian government that is responsible for managing state holdings in various strategic companies in the country.

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

It is reported that the Austrian Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR), 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 European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a comprehensive framework for data protection that applies to all EU Member States. In Austria, the Federal Act on the Protection of Individuals With Regard to the Processing of Personal Data implements the GDPR.

In Austria, a screening mechanism was first introduced with Section 25a of the Foreign Trade Act 2011. The Act has been replaced in July 2020 by the Austrian Investment Control Act, which provides different scenarios where screening applies. The main relevant scenarios triggering the screening are, under certain circumstances, as follows:
- Acquisition of 10% or more of voting rights in the company when related to the following digitally sensitive sectors: defence equipment/defence technology; critical energy infrastructure; critical digital infrastructure (in particular 5G infrastructure); systems that enable data sovereignty of the Republic of Austria;
- Establishment of a new branch in Austria if an Austrian undertaking is acquired by a foreign entity and the relevant thresholds are met;
- Establishment of a new company in which foreign investors will have more than 10% voting rights.
The Foreign Direct Investment Screening Act provides that some transactions are exempt from the approval requirement where the target is a very small undertaking with less than ten employees and an annual turnover or annual balance of no more than 2 million euros.