Art. 11 of Law No. 09-04 requires communication service providers to store, for a period of one year after the registration, data allowing the identification of users of their services and data enabling the recipient(s) of the communication to be identified as well as the addresses of the sites visited. This requirement covers all service providers, defined in Art. 2 to include any public or private entity which offers users the possibility of communicating by means of a computer system and/or a telecommunications system; and any other entity processing or storing computer data for communication services or their users.

According to Art. 3 of Law No. 09-04, subject to the legal provisions guaranteeing the secrecy of correspondence and communications, implementation of technical devices carrying out operations of surveillance of electronic communications, collection and recording in real time of their content as well as searches and seizures in a computer system may be carried out for purposes of protection of public order, for investigations or after judicial request. Art. 4 lists instances when such surveillance may be carried out, including:
- to prevent offences qualified as terrorist or subversive acts and offences against State security;
- when there is information on a probable attack on a computer system representing a threat to public order, national defence, State institutions or the national economy;
- for the purposes of investigations and judicial information when it is difficult to arrive at results relevant to the research in progress without resorting to electronic surveillance;
- in connection with the execution of requests for international legal assistance.

Algeria is home to three mobile phone and data network operators, namely Djezzy, Algérie Télécom Mobile, and Wataniya Telecom Algérie. The largest of these by subscriptions is Optimum Télécom Algérie, which operates under the brand name of Djezzy, which became fully state-owned in August 2022 after Veon sold its 45.5% stake in Djezzy to the government-controlled Algerian National Investment Fund (Fonds National d'Investissement, FNI). The fixed incumbent, Algérie Télécom Mobile, is also fully state-owned.

It is reported that the State of Algeria has not established functional separation for the operator with significant market power. Yet, Art. 110 and 123 of Law No. 18-04 (Loi No. 18-04 du 24 Chaâbane 1439 correspondant au 10 mai 2018 fixant les règles générales relatives à la poste et aux communications électroniques) provide for accounting separation for operators with significant market power.

It is reported that, prior to 2018, the State-owned operator Algérie Télécom (AT) was the sole player in the fixed-line segment. It held a monopoly over the country’s fixed-line and fibre optic networks and was responsible for developing Algeria’s telecommunication sector. In 2018, Law No. 18-04 required the incumbent operator to respond to requests for unbundling of its local loop made by the service operators of electronic communications holding general authorisations in consideration of compensation (Arts. 102 and 126). However, pursuant to Art. 126, international traffic originating in or destined for electronic communications networks open to the public other than satellite must be transported in full through the international infrastructure established or operated by AT. The telecom licensing requirements are stipulated in Arts. 123 and 124 of Law No. 18-04.

Algeria has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments as it is not a member of the WTO.

It is reported that the Regulatory Authority of Post and Electronic Communications (ARPCE), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Chapter 3 of Law No. 22-18 establishes the Algerian Agency for Investment Promotion. The Agency, among other activities, should ensure that the investors comply with the legislation in force and the standards relating, in particular, to the environment and public health protection, to competition, work and transparency of accounting, tax and financial information (Art. 15). The controls are done both before the investment (during recording and processing of investment files) and after (during monitoring of investment projects).
It is also reported that initial foreign investments remain subject to approvals from a host of ministries that cover the proposed project, most often the Ministries of Commerce, Health, Industry and Pharmaceutical Production, Energy and Mines, Telecommunications and Post, and Industry. Moreover, companies have reported that certain high-profile industrial proposals, such as for automotive assembly, are subject to informal approval by the Prime Minister.

The last paragraph of Art. 44 of Law No. 18-07 forbids, in any case, the communication or transfer of personal data to a foreign country when this transfer is likely to carry harm to public security or the vital interests of the state.

Art. 6 of Decision No. 48/SP/PC/ARPT/17 provides that any natural or legal person wishing to establish and/or operate a service for the hosting and storage of computerised content for the benefit of remote users, within the framework of so-called cloud computing services, shall submit an application to the Regulatory Authority. Any legal entity wishing to establish and/or operate such a service must be incorporated under Algerian law and have its registered office in Algeria.

Art. 8 of the Law No. 18-05 requires any e-commerce activity, which is defined as electronic commerce in goods and services, to have a website hosted in Algeria with a “.com.dz” extension. This requirement applies to both domestic and foreign e-suppliers as clarified in Art. 2, which states the legislation applies to e-commerce transactions where one of the parties to the e-commerce contract is of Algerian nationality, or legally resides in Algeria, or a legal person governed by Algerian law, or if the contract is concluded or performed in Algeria. Effectively, this means that the requirement to have domain names hosted in Algeria also applies to foreign companies.

Art. 20 of Ordinance No. 03-07 stipulates that, in the absence of a reciprocal agreement, patent applicants residing abroad are required to appoint a representative before the competent authority.

Art. 10 of Decision No. 48/SP/PC/ARPT/17 stipulates that in the course of carrying out the activity covered by its authorisation to establish and operate hosting and storage services for computerised content, the "service provider" is obliged to guarantee that customer data is hosted and stored on national territory and to guarantee a backup solution for data hosted or stored. The term "service provider" is defined as any natural or legal person who has been granted authorisation to establish and operate hosting and storage services for computerised content for the benefit of remote users as part of cloud computing services, in compliance with the requirements set out in the legislation and regulations in force.

It is reported that Algeria fails to ensure the provision of adequate judicial remedies in instances of patent infringement.

Art. 15 of the Law on Audiovisual Activity stipulates that online audiovisual communication services must be hosted “exclusively and physically domiciled” with Algeria’s public broadcasting organisation, utilising the national ".dz" domain extension. This provision requires both the physical location of servers within Algerian territory and the use of the country’s top-level domain.