It is reported that the de minimis threshold, that is the minimum value of goods below which customs do not charge duties, is USD 200, following the 200 USD threshold recommended by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Equatorial Guinea lacks a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that applies to online transactions.

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

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

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

Online versions of some Spanish newspapers are reported to be regularly blocked. In 2022, it was reported that the independent media outlet AhoraEG was only accessible via a virtual private network.

It has been reported that the government blocked internet access during periods of political tension in both 2022 and 2023. Furthermore, the indicator "7.2.4 - 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 Equatorial Guinea for the year 2024. This corresponds to "Rarely but there have been a few occasions throughout the year when the government shut down domestic access to Internet."

As per Art. 11 of Decree-Law No. 3/1980, which approves the Advertising Statute, advertising agencies are defined as companies that are duly authorised to professionally engage on behalf of third parties in creating, planning, executing, or distributing advertising campaigns through any means of dissemination. Art. 16 specifies that individuals or entities intending to participate in advertising activities must meet the requirements set by the Secretariat of State for Information and Tourism. They are also required to adhere to regulatory standards and register in the General Advertising Registry under the Technical Secretariat of the Department of Information and Tourism.
Art. 17 outlines the conditions necessary to obtain the licence, including (i) possession of the necessary capacity to engage in the trade; (ii) adoption of any of the constitutive forms of society for juridical persons; (iii) demonstration of necessary morality and proof of economic solvency.

Art. 17 of Law No. 1/2016 stipulates that any mechanism or system for storing, archiving, structuring and accessing citizens' personal data (referred to as "ficheros" in the law, that is "databases") may be created by private initiative only with the appropriate concession or administrative authorisation from the competent authority. In addition, according to Arts. 19 and 20, the project must be notified in advance to the Data Protection Authority, which must include the following information:
- The purpose of the database and its intended use;
- The persons or categories of persons from whom personal data are to be obtained or who are required to supply them;
- The address and location of the database;
- The basic and technical structure of the file and a description of the types of personal data it contains;
- The established procedure for obtaining personal data;
- The conditions governing the communication of personal data and their communication to third parties;
- The bodies or persons responsible for the database;
- The bodies to which the rights of access, rectification, cancellation and opposition may be exercised;
- The security measures in place, with an indication of the level applicable, whether basic, medium or high;
- The registration and notification data.

Equatorial Guinea requires licences for imports of goods valued at over 50,000 CFA francs (approx. USD 83). This must be done through an authorised bank, and pre-shipment inspection is required for most goods. Companies in Equatorial Guinea have indicated that the need to obtain prior authorisations or licences for imports is one of the most cumbersome parts of the trade process and that licences have an ad valorem cost of up to 10% of the trade value.

It is reported that foreign investors must comply with local content rules, which vary by sector. A certain percentage of local content must be included in goods and technologies produced by companies with foreign investors. In addition, local content rules require that foreign workers not exceed 10% of the total workforce. It is also reported that local content rules are applied inconsistently, creating disincentives for foreign investment.

It is reported that there is a requirement for prior authorisation or licences issued by the Ministry of Trade for all exports. Businesses in Equatorial Guinea have identified this requirement as the most cumbersome part of the trade process. All traders are also required to register with the Ministry of Trade. The country's export regulations and procedures also lack transparency, and official trade data and information are not readily available. These challenges are reported to be problematic for shipping companies, small traders and traders of non-traditional products.

Art. 18 of Law 7/2005 establishes that all telecommunications apparatus, terminals, equipment and systems require a certificate of approval for connection to the network and for the provision of any telecommunications service or activity to be issued in the manner established by regulation of the Regulatory Authority. The same article stipulates that no telecommunications equipment or system may be imported or marketed in any manner whatsoever without the appropriate approval certificate. Within the framework of these legal provisions, the Regulation on the Approval of Telecommunications Equipment, Devices and Systems was adopted in 2012.
Art. 2 of the Regulation on the Approval of Telecommunication Equipment, Devices and Systems in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea establishes the general regime, requirements, procedures, deadlines, characteristics and conditions for the approval of telecommunications equipment, apparatus and systems, as well as their installation in Equatorial Guinea with the objective to avoid electromagnetic interference and to ensure electromagnetic compatibility with other uses of the frequency spectrum. Art. 10 stipulates that the "Oficina Reguladora de las Telecomunicaciones (ORTEL)" may use the following mechanisms to carry out approval processes: technical tests carried out by ORTEL or homologation in laboratories accredited by ORTEL if the equipment or device has not been subject to approval. If the equipment or device has been approved abroad, ORTEL will validate and certify the approval through the recognised certification of a third country. Art. 21 provides that ORTEL acknowledges the validity of technical specifications, certificates of conformity, or documents of compliance with international technical regulations from international organisations and laboratories listed in Annex II of the Regulation.

Law No. 1/2016 on the Protection of Personal Data provides a comprehensive regime of data protection in Equatorial Guinea. The Data Protection Authority (the Governing Body for the Protection of Personal Data) established by Law No. 1/2016, however, is not yet operational and, as such, many provisions within the Data Protection Law are of limited effect.
Apart from Law No. 1/2016, the Electronic Communications Law (Law No. 2/2016 of 22 July 2016) regulates the domestic handling of data in the framework of electronic communications and networks, as well as several other laws and sectoral directives containing relevant provisions.

According to Art. 1 of the Law on Data Retention in Electronic Communications and Public Communication Networks, providers and operators of electronic communications services and public communication networks must retain the data generated, produced or processed in their activities of electronic communications services or public communication networks. According to Art. 5, these providers must retain the following data: (i) data necessary to trace and identify the origin of communication for fixed network telephony and mobile telephony, Internet access, e-mail and Internet telephony; (ii) data necessary to identify the destination of communication for fixed network telephony and mobile telephony, e-mail and Internet telephony; (iii) data necessary to determine the date, time and duration of a communication; (iv) data necessary to identify the type of communication; (v) data necessary to identify the communication equipment of the users; and (vi) data necessary to identify the location of the communication equipment. According to Art. 9, the obligation of electronic storage of data ceases after one year, computed from the date on which the communication took place, except in cases of particular interest for the criminal investigation, in which case the duration may be extended up to a maximum period of two years through the corresponding court order.