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

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

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

Law No. 2/2011 amended the Spanish Copyright Act to create an administrative body – the Second Section of the Intellectual Property Commission – which orders injunctions against information society services that infringe on copyright. Its functioning was later amended by Law No. 21/2014. The IP Commission targets particularly websites providing links to infringing works in a purposeful and massive way; it may also require payment, advertising, and access service providers to stop providing their services to the infringer.
The Copyright Act also implements (Art. 31.1) the InfoSoc Directive (2001/29/EC) mandatory exception for temporary acts of reproduction which are transient or incidental, have no independent economic significance, and are an integral and essential part of a technological process whose sole purpose is to enable (a) a transmission in a network among third parties by an intermediary, or (b) a lawful use. It also provides that (Arts. 138, 139.1.h, 141.6) copyright owners may ask for injunctions, where appropriate, against an intermediary whose services are resorted to by a third party to infringe copyright, even where the intermediary’s activity is not infringing in itself. The Copyright Act creates (Art. 32) a compulsory levy on news aggregators, and lastly, it establishes (Art. 138) inducement, contributory and vicarious liability for copyright infringements.

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 Spain, Law 13/2022, General Law on Audiovisual Communication, repealed Law 7/2010 on Audiovisual Communication, transposing the EU Directive on Audiovisual Media Services (AVMS). According to Art. 116 of Law 13/2022, VOD providers in Spain must reserve at least 30% of their catalogue for European works, with at least half of that quota for works in the state's official language or one of the official languages of the Autonomous Communities. Of this sub-quota, 40% must be for works in the official languages of the Autonomous Communities, ensuring at least 10% for each. Additionally, under Art. 119, VOD providers with annual revenues of EUR 50 million or more must allocate 5% of their revenue to finance European audiovisual works, purchase rights, or contribute to relevant funds. The provider must also ensure that 70% of the mentioned percentage goes to independent audiovisual works.

The European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provides a comprehensive framework for data protection that applies to all EU Member States. Spain implemented the GDPR in 2018 through the Organic Law No. 3/2018, of 5 December 2018, on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights.

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.
According to Art. 5 of Law 25/2007, the retention period for telecommunication data shall be, as a general rule, one year. Nevertheless, depending on the circumstances, the actual timeframe may vary (e.g. from six months to two years).

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.
Act 34/2002 transposes Directive 2000/31/EC. In Spain, the safe harbour framework is mainly defined in this Act. Under certain circumstances, online intermediaries will be exempt from a wide array of liabilities, including contractual liability, administrative liability, tortious (delictual) or extra-contractual liability, criminal liability, civil liability or any other type of liability, for all types of activities initiated by third parties, including copyright and trademark infringements, defamation, misleading advertising, unfair commercial practices, unfair competition, publications of illegal content, etc, relating to the content and data uploaded by users. Nevertheless, safe harbour, as a general rule, only applies if the intermediaries are not aware of the illegality (intermediaries with a passive role) or if aware (intermediaries with an active role) do not act to stop it. In this line, hosting providers and service providers that provide links to content or search tools have a greater obligation to act diligently in cases where data storage or user activities may be illegal.

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.
Act 34/2002 transposes Directive 2000/31/EC. In Spain, the safe harbour framework is mainly defined in this Act. Under certain circumstances, online intermediaries will be exempt from a wide array of liabilities, including contractual liability, administrative liability, tortious (delictual) or extra-contractual liability, criminal liability, civil liability or any other type of liability, for all types of activities initiated by third parties, including copyright and trademark infringements, defamation, misleading advertising, unfair commercial practices, unfair competition, publications of illegal content, etc, relating to the content and data uploaded by users. Nevertheless, safe harbour, as a general rule, only applies if the intermediaries are not aware of the illegality (intermediaries with a passive role) or if aware (intermediaries with an active role) do not act to stop it. In this line, hosting providers and service providers that provide links to content or search tools have a greater obligation to act diligently in cases where data storage or user activities may be illegal.

In accordance with the Sole Additional Provision of Law 25/2007, mobile telephony service providers that offer prepaid card activation systems are required to maintain a registry of the identities of customers who purchase SIM cards. Before completing the sale, operators must inform customers about the existence and purpose of this register, its availability under the terms outlined in the subsequent section, and the rights specified in Art. 38.6 of Law 32/2003. The process of identification must be conducted using an official identity document, with the register recording the purchaser's name, surname, nationality, identification document number, and the nature or designation of the document.

In July 2023, Spain approved Royal Decree 571/2023. The Decree, which entered into effect on 1 September 2023, builds upon Law 19/2003 of July 2003. It further aligns Spain's foreign investment framework with EU Regulation 2019/452 and outlines scenarios where the general liberalised system for foreign investments may be suspended, requiring prior administrative approval if the investment is deemed to have an impact on public order, public security, public health, or national security.
Chapter IV outlines Spain's administrative authorisation regime for FDI subject to suspended liberalisation. This framework requires approval for investments qualifying as FDI in Spain, targeting specific sectors (such as telecommunications, artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, aerospace, nanotechnologies, advanced materials, and advanced manufacturing systems) or conducted by certain entities. FDI is defined as investments by non-EU/EFTA residents or EU/EFTA-based entities with non-EU/EFTA ultimate beneficial owners, acquiring at least 10% stake or control in Spanish companies. The government can extend screening to other sectors potentially affecting security, public order, or health.

There are reports of concerns about the differences in the treatment of non-Spanish patent applications. According to Art. 152 of the Patent Act 24/2015, non-residents of the EU must act through an intellectual property agent before the Spanish Intellectual Property Office. In addition, residents of an EU State acting on their own behalf must designate an address in Spain for the purpose of notifications or, alternatively, indicate that notifications should be sent to them by email. It is reported that the process for granting and renewing patents may present some complexities and high costs in Spain.

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

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
The Spanish Intellectual Property Act indicates that copyright exceptions must be limited to certain special cases and that they must not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author. As a result, the Spanish Intellectual Property Act has defined the exceptions to Copyright in Spain. These include, inter alia: provisional reproductions and private copies, copies for security purposes and during administrative or judicial procedures, quotations and reviews and illustrations for educational or scientific research purposes, their use in databases by the legitimate user and limitations to the exploitation rights of the owner of a database, works without a known author, works on official acts and religious ceremonies and parody.

The European Union and Spain have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.