According to Art. 40 of Law No. 20/017 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies, the legal entity benefiting from a licence must adopt the form of a Société Anonyme (‘S.A’). Without prejudice to agreements and conventions to which the Congolese State is a party, at least thirty per cent (30%) of the share capital of the aforementioned company must be allocated as follows:
- At least 25% must be held by Congolese natural or legal persons whose shares are owned by Congolese natural persons. This subscription must be paid within three years of the company’s incorporation.
- 5% is reserved for Congolese employees of the company.
In the event that the 30% threshold mentioned above is not met, the company may still be incorporated, provided the share reserved for Congolese workers is guaranteed.

It is reported that, in practice, the DRC requires foreign investors to hire local agents and participate in a joint venture with the government or local partners.

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Consumer Protection Law of 2021 Ν.112(Ι)/2021. The law gives the Consumer Protection Service wider authority to impose sanctions, including administrative fines, and to apply to the court for injunctions in cases of violations. The legislation consolidates the laws in relation to consumer rights, unfair commercial practices, misleading and comparative advertising, unfair terms in contracts, indication of product prices, conditions for the sale of goods at discount prices, and product guarantees.

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

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

Cyprus 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 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 Cyprus, the EU Directive was transposed into domestic law through the amendment of Law 7(I)/1998 of May 2021 (197(I)/2021). According to Art. Art. 31Α of the law, audiovisual service providers are required to retain at least 30% of their catalogues for European works and to display them prominently. Cyprus has not implemented financial contribution obligations to VOD service providers.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated and is effective in both the mobile (based on commercial agreements) and fixed sectors. In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) 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.

The Cypriot State owns the majority of shares of the Cypriot Telecommunications Authority (Cyta), which is the incumbent telecom operator.

It is reported that Cyprus does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, obligated companies (i.e. companies that have been designated as such by a decision of the Commissioner for a relevant market) must prepare and make available to the Commissioner their separate accounts of revenues and costs of supply of goods and/or services.

It is reported that the Cyprus Inland Telecommunications Authority (Cyta), 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. Cyprus implemented the GDPR by means of Law Providing for the Protection of Natural Persons with regard to the Processing of Personal Data and for the Free Movement of Such Data

Under the EU Directive on Data Retention, operators were required to retain certain categories of traffic and location data (excluding the content of those communications) for a period between six months and two years and to make them available, on request, to law enforcement authorities for the purposes of investigating, detecting and prosecuting serious crime and terrorism. On 8 April 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union declared the Directive invalid. However, not all national laws that implemented the directive have been overturned.
Cyprus's law implementing the Directive is still in place. Specifically, according to Section 13 of Law 183(I)/2007, telecommunications services providers are obliged to retain data for a period of at least six months.

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.
The E-Commerce Law of 2004 and its amendment of 2007 transpose the E-Commerce Directive into Cypriot law. The Law aims to promote the free movement of information society services between the Republic of Cyprus and EU/EEA members, with particular emphasis on the establishment of a clear framework for the liability of intermediaries.

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.
The E-Commerce Law of 2004 and its amendment of 2007 transpose the E-Commerce Directive into Cypriot law. The Law aims to promote the free movement of information society services between the Republic of Cyprus and EU/EEA members, with particular emphasis on the establishment of a clear framework for the liability of intermediaries.