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

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

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

Art. 4 of the Decree-Law No. 262/1986 and Art. 40 of the Decree-Law No. 403/1986 establish that, as a general rule, foreign companies that wish to exercise their activity in Portugal for more than one year, must establish a "permanent representation" (i.e. registered office, central administration or principal place of business within host country - Portugal - or in a European Union country) in the country and comply with the provisions set forth under Portuguese law in relation to commercial registration.

The Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU provides an updated framework aimed at encouraging online sales. The Directive has been implemented by the Decree-Law No. 24/2014 regulating on distance sales contracts, and the Decree-Law No. 166/2013 approving the regime of the individual restrictive commercial practices.

According to Art. 19.6 Decree-Law No. 398/1998, non resident suppliers are generally required to register for Value Added Tax in Portugal if they sell goods or supply services to private customers. Only non-EU resident companies must appoint a resident tax representative for Value Added Tax registration.

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. Article 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 through facilitating access to such works using any appropriate means to ensure prominence of European works. 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.
Law No. 55/2012 promotes some content produced in Portuguese language and other European Union countries' language (see Arts. 2, 3 and 4). In this sense, some stakeholders report that television broadcasters must dedicate at least 50 percent of airtime to programming originally produced in the Portuguese language, with at least half of this produced in Portugal. Music radio broadcasters must dedicate between 25 percent to 40 percent of programming time to music produced in Portuguese or in traditional Portuguese genres, with at least 60 percent of this produced by European Union citizens.

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 harbor. 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.
In Portugal, the safe harbour is mainly defined in the Information Decree Law No. 7/2004, as implementing Directive 2000/31/EC, therefore covering activities of mere conduit, intermediary storage and hosting (Arts. 11 to 19 Decree Law No. 7/2004). Portuguese legislation introduces additional particularities and liability exemptions such as, under certain circumstances, intermediary liability for content aggregation providers, mainly hyperlinking and search engine services (Art. 17 Decree Law No. 7/2004).

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 harbor. 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.
In Portugal, the safe harbour is mainly defined in the Information Decree Law No. 7/2004, as implementing Directive 2000/31/EC, therefore covering activities of mere conduit, intermediary storage and hosting (Arts. 11 to 19 Decree Law No. 7/2004). Portuguese legislation introduces additional particularities and liability exemptions such as, under certain circumstances, intermediary liability for content aggregation providers, mainly hyperlinking and search engine services (Art. 17 Decree Law No. 7/2004).

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 which implemented the Directive have been overturned.
In Portugal, the Directive is yet to be repealed, and is implemented through Law No. 32/2008 on data processing. Article 6 of the Law establishes a retention period for of one year to the following categories of data:
- Data necessary to find and identify the source of a communication.
- Data necessary to trace and identify the destination of a communication.
- Data necessary to identify the date, time and duration of a communication.
- Data necessary to identify the type of communication.
- Data necessary to identify the users' telecommunications equipment or what is considered to be their equipment.
- Data necessary to identify the location of mobile communication equipment.

It is reported that the Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

It is reported that functional separation is not mandated for operators with significant market power (SMP). In the Electronic Communication Law, it is foreseen the possibility of imposition of the functional separation obligation, however, Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações (ANACOM) did not impose it in practice (instead imposed equivalence of inputs/outputs). Art. 66 provides for the possibility, as an exceptional measure, of imposing the remedy of functional separation on SMP operators. On the other hand, accounting separation is required, and it applies to SMP operators in the relevant markets where this obligation was imposed.

It is reported that the government owns 100% shares of Refer Telecom - Serviços de Telecomunicações S.A., which offers telecommunication services such as high-speed internet, fixed and mobile telephony, and cable television, among others. In addition, the government owns 51.1% of RENTELECOM-Comunicações, S.A. The company offers telecommunications services, including Internet, telephony, and television. Furthermore, it is reported that the State owns 100% of EMACOM - Telecomunicações da Madeira, Unipessoal, which offers telecommunications services, including fixed and mobile telephony, internet, and television. Finally, the government of Portugal owns 51% of MINHOCOM and Valicom, both of which offer planning, design, implementation and maintenance services for telecommunications infrastructures, as well as project management and consulting in the area.

According to Art. 25 of the Electronic Communications Law, passive sharing is mandated. Electronic communications companies must promote the conclusion of agreements on co-location and sharing of resources already set up or to be set up. 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 has the obligation to 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 Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. Portugal transposed the Directive through the Decree Law No. 110/2018, approving the new Industrial Property Code.