Arts. 9 and 87 of the Telecommunications Code ban the use of encryption and prescribe penalties of up to five years in prison for unauthorized use of such tools.

Art. 8 of Government Decree No. 2020-48 provides that any natural person or legal entity wishing to approve telecommunications equipment or radio equipment enabling the encryption of data exchanged over telecommunications networks is required to declare to the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche des Télécommunications (CERT, Telecommunications Research and Studies Center) the technical characteristics of the encryption method. The CERT examines the content of the declaration and checks that it complies with the encryption method used in the equipment and decides on the application for approval.

Art. 6 of Government Decree No. 48-2020 provides that telecommunications terminal equipment imported or manufactured in Tunisia and intended for marketing or public use, as well as radio equipment, whether or not it is intended to be connected to a public telecommunications network, must first be approved by type, brand and model by the Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche des Télécommunications (CERT, Telecommunications Research and Studies Center). Art. 11 states that the CERT is responsible, in collaboration with the bodies concerned in the field of telecommunications, for drawing up the technical requirements for approval and technical conformity.
The Tunisian Accreditation Council (TUNAC) evaluates and accredits conformity assessment bodies in accordance with relevant national and international standards. TUNAC has mutual recognition agreements with the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) and the European Cooperation for Accreditation (EA) for the accreditation of laboratories for analysis, testing, and calibration. Moreover, TUNAC is also a signatory of the mutual recognition agreements with the International Accreditation Forum and the EA for the accreditation of certification bodies for quality and environmental management systems.

Arts. 3-10 of the Decree No. 94-1744 specify the technical import control, depending on the nature of the product, three types of controls, generally carried out at the point of clearance and before Customs authorizes release: "List A" products are subject to systematic control; "List B" products require a compliance certificate; and "List C" products are subject to specifications. The Decree is implemented by the Order of 15 September 2005, amending the Order of 30 August 1994, which specifies the list of products subject to technical import control. For products on List A, which includes telecommunications equipment and computers, the technical control is systematic and can take different forms (desk review, possibly accompanied by sample testing, inspection of goods or analysis of samples). It is reported that although all products are controlled, the modalities are not clear and give some discretionary power to the technical control authorities. In addition, it is reported that controls are not based on a risk analysis, Tunisian norms are not notified to World Trade Organization (WTO), and in cases where a laboratory analysis is requested, this prolongs the delay before commercialisation and increases storage costs.

Art. 32 of Telecommunications Code Telecommunications terminal equipment imported or manufactured in Tunisia and intended for marketing or public use, as well as radio terminal equipment, whether or not intended for connection to the public telecommunications network, are subject to prior authorisation. Decree No. 48-2020 regulates the terms and conditions of this authorisation.

Arts. 9 and 87 of the Telecommunications Code ban the use of encryption and prescribe penalties of up to five years in prison for unauthorized use of such tools.

In October 2022, Tunisia introduced mandatory licences for imports into Tunisia on 130 product categories, including webcams, among others. The list of products was published by the Tunisian Ministry of Trade and Export Development but the measure was not published in the Official Journal of Tunisia and there was no notification to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Under the measure, importers wishing to import any of the covered goods into Tunisia, must first obtain an import licence from the relevant Tunisian ministry. For that purpose, importers must submit an importation file to competent authorities. The application file must contain several documents, including: an invoice issued by the factory; a certificate issued by an official authority in the country of export relating to the legal entity of the factory and the license permitting it to practice its activity; a proof that the factory has a quality control system in place (in practice: a certificate presenting the quality procedures in place, ISO standards, self-certification etc); a list of products to be imported; the trademark of the product and the trademark that is produced under a license from the entity owning it (in practice: registered trademark in the country of origin); a model of the labels of the imported products; a free sale certificate delivered by the national authorities of the exporting party; and documents and reports confirming that the imported products meet applicable quality standards (in practice: ISO certificates, conformity Moreover, Tunisian authorities reserve the right to request additional documents to check the quality and safety of imported goods or request samples of goods to be imported for inspection. There are no clear or published deadlines for processing the applications by the Tunisian authorities. According to the information available, the processing of applications may vary from 48 hours to 4 months.

All imports from Israel are banned. According to General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) document L/6713, Tunisia has not applied the GATT concerning Israel, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 35 of this Agreement, since the country's accession in 1990.

It is reported that in March 2022, there disruptions to two online communications platforms, Zoom and Microsoft Teams for a short period of time.

The specifications for the exercise of the profession of commercial advertising agent, as set out in the "Order of the Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Development, Investment and International Cooperation of 17 April 2020", require natural persons or legal representatives of legal entities wishing to exercise the profession of commercial advertising agent to hold a national licence or its equivalent or to have completed two years of higher education and to provide evidence of at least one year's professional experience in an advertising agency (Art. 3) and to be of Tunisian nationality (Art. 4). The specifications also require that the legal entity be subject to Tunisian law, be managed by Tunisians and that its foreign capital not exceed 50% (Art. 7). Arts. 6 and 8 of the specifications also require natural and legal persons to provide a bank guarantee. Annex 2 of the specifications describes the types of activities carried out by commercial advertising agents and includes digital communication agencies, which deal with the development of websites and online applications, the creation and management of online content and the management of social media networks.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Tunisia's law and jurisprudence.

According to paragraph 2 of the Circular of the Ministry of Communications Technologies of November 2021, mobile phone customers in Tunisia must present documentary evidence to prove their identity upon purchasing a SIM card. Telecom operators keep records of customers’ data, including identities, dates of birth, postal addresses, and national identity numbers or passports.

Under Presidential Decree 2023-47, the authorities extended until the end of December 2023 a state of emergency originally declared in 2011 under Decree No. 2011-184 and extended several times. The Tunisian authorities declared a state of emergency under Decree 78-50, which reportedly allows them to access electronic devices without a court order.

ISPs have the duty, according to Art. 11(3-4) of Decree No. 4773-2014, “to meet the requirements of the national defence, security and public safety in accordance with the legislation and regulation in force” and to “provide to the relevant authorities all the means necessary for the performance of his duties, in that context, the provider of Internet services shall respect the instructions of the legal, military and national security authorities”. It is reported that the ISPs may be required, therefore, to cooperate with the public authorities as needed and this may imply divulgation of customers’ information.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Tunisia's law and jurisprudence.