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

Bahrain has signed and ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

Bahrain has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.

It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 790.

Bahrain has a legal framework that applies consumer protection to online transactions. Law No. 35 of 2012 with respect to Consumer Protection governs consumer protection matters in general. In addition, Decree No. 54 of 2018 issuing the Law on Electronic Communications and Transactions updates a repealed law and expands the range of transactions that may be carried out electronically. Under the law, electronic signatures are generally considered valid and binding, but Bahraini authorities have yet to register any accredited certification service providers.

The Legislative Decree No. 27 generally applies to all businesses carrying out commercial activities in Bahrain, including branches of foreign companies. According to Arts. 8-9 of the Decree, all businesses are required to be registered with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) and appropriately licensed by the relevant regulated body in relation to carrying out particular activities, such as operations of e Marketplaces / websites / web portals (activity 6312), and retail sale via internet (activity 4791) in addition to other commercial activity if required.

In accordance with the Law No. 81 of 2006 with respect to Approving the Common Industrial Law of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), exporters, and re-exporters of several products must obtain an industrial licence from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MoICT). This licence may be issued only to a firm or an individual resident in Bahrain and it is valid for one year (renewable). The products that the license regime apply to include electric motors, generators, transformers, and electricity distribution and control apparatus; batteries and accumulators; wiring and wiring devices; electric lighting equipment; domestic appliances, other electric equipment; machinery and equipment.

According to the GSO Technical Regulation for Low Voltage Electrical Equipment and Appliances – BD-142004-01, which includes an amendment and an update of the first edition, number (BD07070503) was implemented in 2007. Electrical appliances designed to be used in certain rated voltage range must be sold bearing G mark after being certified by the GCC Notified Body.
Products that fall under List 1 under the Regulation are low-risk; thus a self declaration form prepared by the manufacturer can be made affixing the “G” before placing the product on the market. Products that fall under List 2 are higher risk electrical products which will undergo mandatory Type testing and review of the product's Technical File to verify conformity before authorization is granted to affix the “G” mark before placing the product onto the market.
However, for List 2 products, manufacturers must choose a single Notified Body (NB) entity, to examine the technical design of a product and verify that the technical design of the product meets the requirements of the applicable Gulf Technical Regulations and for the issuance of an evaluation report with a Gulf Type Examination certificate and shall be issued certificate from the NB.

Under the Legislative Decree No. 68 of 2016, newspapers must obtain licenses from the mass media directorate in order to disseminate content on websites or social media. Moreover, under the Legislative Decree No. 47 of 2002, as amended in 2021, websites based on online journalism, news reporting, and broadcasting are required to register with and obtain the Ministry of Information Affairs' approval to operate.

In accordance with the Law No. 81 of 2006 with respect to Approving the Common Industrial Law of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Bahrain imposes a regime for import licensing and restrictions. Importers of several products must obtain an industrial licence from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism (MoICT). This licence may be issued only to a firm or an individual resident in Bahrain. It is valid for one year (renewable) and is transferable between importers. The products that the license regime apply to include electric motors, generators, transformers, and electricity distribution and control apparatus; batteries and accumulators; wiring and wiring devices; electric lighting equipment; domestic appliances, other electric equipment; machinery and equipment.

In August 2016, the Telecommunications Regulatory Agency (TRA) ordered all telecom companies to employ a centralized system for blocking websites managed by the TRA with the Resolution No. 12 of 2016 Promulgating the Internet Safety Regulation. Under the Regulation, an Internet Service Provider (ISP) must ensure that it complies with any Website Compliance Request regarding websites to be blocked within 24 hours of receipt of such a request by the TRA. An ISP must also comply with the Unified Technical Solution to automatically prevent access to all websites recorded on the Prohibited Material List.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 3 in Bahrain. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

It is reported that Bahraini national regulatory bodies have revoked licenses of operators that failed to install monitoring and filtering systems required by government authorities and are indifferent to user complaints about internet controls.

It is reported that some mobile live-streaming services including Ustream and Bambuser, and other websites that stream directly to Twitter like Twitcasting remained blocked in 2021.

In January 2021, as a result of a deal to restore ties with Qatar, Bahraini authorities unblocked some Qatari websites, including Qatari outlets Al-Sharq and Al-Raya. Other websites, including those belonging to Al-Jazeera and Qatar Airways, have remained blocked since May 2017, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.