The Investigatory Powers Act 2016 gives the UK government, including the police, security services, and other public bodies, the power to intercept targeted or bulk communications as well as collect bulk communications data. The Data Retention and Acquisitions Regulations 2018 amended certain pieces of the 2016 Act, raising the threshold for data interception or collection to apply to serious crimes. However, a court order is not necessary in all cases for public bodies to intercept communications data.

The Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002, which transposed the EU's e-Commerce Directive into UK Law, provides the legal basis governing internet service provider (ISP) liability, including a conditional safe harbour. The Directive covers any type of infringement of third-party rights, including intellectual and industrial property rights and personality rights.
The limitations on liability in the Regulations apply to clearly delimited activities (mere conduit, caching and hosting) carried out by internet intermediaries rather than to categories of service providers or types of information. The eCommerce Regulations implement the eCommerce Directive into the UK law in an almost mirrored manner with one potentially noteworthy difference in the language. While the EU Directive uses the expression “should not be liable” (in relation to intermediaries), the Regulations expand this phrase into protection from liability “for damages or for any other pecuniary remedy or for any criminal sanction”. As a result, various forms of injunctive relief are excluded from the implemented provision.While the EU e-Commerce Directive is no longer applied to the UK, the latest government guidance states that "the government is committed to upholding the liability protections now that the transition period has ended. For companies that host user-generated content on their online services, there will continue to be a ‘notice and takedown’ regime where the platform must remove illegal content that they become aware of or risk incurring liability."

The Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002, which transposed the EU's e-Commerce Directive into UK Law, provides the legal basis governing internet service provider (ISP) liability, including a conditional safe harbour. The Directive covers any type of infringement of third-party rights, including intellectual and industrial property rights and personality rights.
The limitations on liability in the Regulations apply to clearly delimited activities (mere conduit, caching and hosting) carried out by internet intermediaries rather than to categories of service providers or types of information. The eCommerce Regulations implement the eCommerce Directive into the UK law in an almost mirrored manner with one potentially noteworthy difference in the language. While the EU Directive uses the expression “should not be liable” (in relation to intermediaries), the Regulations expand this phrase into protection from liability “for damages or for any other pecuniary remedy or for any criminal sanction”. As a result, various forms of injunctive relief are excluded from the implemented provision.While the EU e-Commerce Directive is no longer applied to the UK, the latest government guidance states that "the government is committed to upholding the liability protections now that the transition period has ended. For companies that host user-generated content on their online services, there will continue to be a ‘notice and takedown’ regime where the platform must remove illegal content that they become aware of or risk incurring liability."

Reports indicate that the Russian state media outlets Sputnik and RT began to exhibit signs of being blocked in the United Kingdom around March 2022, shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. By the end of 2023, these sites continued to display indications of being blocked within the UK. Furthermore, in March 2022, the government formally requested that social media platforms, including Facebook, X, and TikTok, restrict access to content from these outlets in the UK. Later that same month, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) revoked RT's broadcasting licence.

In July 2020, the UK announced a ban on new purchases of equipment from Chinese telecommunications company Huawei as well as a requirement for operators to remove any Huawei components from their 5G networks by 2027. The ban was subsequently added to the Telecommunications Security Act 2021, giving it legal enforceability from November 2021.

The United Kingdom has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The United Kingdom has a telecommunications authority: The Office of Communications (Ofcom). However, it is reported that the decision making process of this entity is not fully independent from the government.

According to Section 388 of the Companies Act 2006, if accounting records are kept at a place outside the United Kingdom, accounts and returns must be sent to and kept at a place in the United Kingdom and must at all times be open to such inspection. In addition, records must be sent back to the UK at intervals of not more than six months.

In August 2021, the Cabinet Office published the Public Procurement Note 11/20 outlining how and when "in-scope organisations" can reserve contracts based on supplier location and size. In-scope organisations are defined as commercial practitioners at all levels within central government departments, executive agencies and non-departmental public bodies. The thresholds below which these reservations can be made are:
- Supplies and services - GBP 122,976 (approx. USD 137,000);
- Services defined under the "Light Touch Regime" (LTR), which refers to certain service contracts that tend to be of lower interest to cross-border competition - GBP 663,540 (approx. USD 730,000).
If these threshold requirements are met, in-scope organisations can reserve procurements based on supplier location (UK-wide, county, borough) or may limit competition to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Voluntary Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs).

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.
The Utilities Contracts Regulations 2016 implements the EU's Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) in the United Kingdom. The Directive contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures.

Although the United Kingdom is a signatory to the WTO Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), its coverage schedules do not include "telecommunications-related services" (CPC 754), which is an important services sector for digital trade.
The United Kingdom joined the GPA 2012, in its own right, on 1 January 2021. The country had previously been covered by the GPA 1994 and subsequently by the GPA 2012 as a member State of the European Union and later in accordance with the Withdrawal Agreement concluded between the European Union and the United Kingdom and relevant decisions of the WTO Committee on Government Procurement. From 2018 to 2020, the United Kingdom negotiated with GPA Parties on GPA membership in its own right. On 2 December 2020, the United Kingdom deposited its instrument of accession to the GPA 2012.

There are no restrictions on maximum foreign equity share for investors in digital trade sectors in the UK. While in practice, it may be difficult for foreign investors to buy large equity shares in state-controlled companies in the UK, there are no formal rules on maximum foreign equity shares.

The National Security and Investment Act 2021 (NSI Act) is an investment screening mechanism that gives the government power to review domestic and foreign investment along national security grounds. The NSI Act creates a mandatory notification requirement for firms as well as a dedicated body, the Investment Security Unit, to review all qualifying investments. Investments in 17 sectors, including communications, data infrastructure, quantum technologies, dual-use technologies, and satellite and space technologies, are reviewable as long as certain ownership threshold requirements are met or the transaction allows for the "material influence" over the entity. The NSI Act does not solely apply to mergers and acquisitions but also to purchases of physical capital and intellectual property. In 2021, the first case of blocking occurred when Chinese company Beijing Infinite Vision Technology was prohibited from acquiring IP developed and owned by the University of Manchester.

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

The UK has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Sections 29 and 30 of the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 enumerate the three scenarios in which fair dealing exceptions can be made to UK copyright law for purposes of research or private study, criticism or review, and for the purpose of reporting current events.