According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry is tasked with establishing a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only approved software may be used for public procurement and for critical information and communication infrastructure, whether state-owned or private, including telecommunication infrastructure. In addition, it is reported that the local content for this software must not be less than 70%.

Art. 21 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Communications stipulates that operators of communication networks of all categories included in the unified telecommunications network of the Republic of Kazakhstan shall be obliged to create at their own expense a system of centralised management of their networks, which must be located on the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In addition to the legal requirement of local processing of personal data in Kazakhstan introduced in 2015 in the Personal Data Law (Art. 12.2), pursuant to Art. 16.2 of the Law, a copy of personal data may only be transferred from Kazakhstan to a foreign country (including for purposes of processing) without prior permission from the personal data subject only if the recipient of the personal data is located in a country that protects personal data (at either the national level (by adopting national laws and regulations) or the international level (through international treaties). Pursuant to Art. 16.3 of the Personal Data Law, if no such protection is available, cross-border transfers of personal data are only possible if:
- The subject gives specific consent;
- In cases specified by international treaties ratified by Kazakhstan;
- In cases stipulated in the laws of Kazakhstan in order to protect the constitutional order, public order, rights and freedoms of an individual and a citizen, and public health and morality; and
- In the case of the protection of the constitutional rights of an individual and citizen, where getting the consent of the subject or their legal representative is impossible.
It is reported that national legislation does not specify a list of countries to which the transfer of data is prohibited, nor are there any criteria listed for determining the countries that provide a proper level of protection of personal data.

Kazakhstan has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

According to Art. 7.6 of the Informatization Law, the central executive body carrying out state regulation in the field of electronic industry is tasked with establishing a unified register of trusted software and electronic products. According to Art. 54.3.1, for the purposes of state security, only approved software may be used for public procurement and for critical information and communication infrastructure, whether state-owned or private, including telecommunication infrastructure. To become part of the register, the software applicant must transfer (i) source program codes for accounting and storage; (ii) source program codes (if any) and; (iii) a set of configurations for the licensed software of "e-government" information technology objects, as stated paragraphs 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Order of the Minister of defence and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 53/НК (Rules for the formation and maintenance of a register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry, as well as the criteria for including products of the electronics industry and trusted software in the register of trusted products of the electronics and software industry). In addition, it is reported that the local content for this software must not be less than 70%.

The Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Enterprise Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan provide a framework for the effective protection of trade secrets. According to Art. 126.1 and 1017.1 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a trade secret comprises valuable information, including secrets of production (know-how), production technology, management model, as well as ways and methods of increasing profits. In addition, according to Art. 28 of the Enterprise Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, among other provisions, the protection of trade secrets consists of prohibiting the unlawful receipt, distribution or use of information constituting a trade secret in accordance with this Code and the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan. This regulatory framework includes remedies and penalties for the disclosure of trade secrets.

It is reported that Kazakhstan has no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

In 2016, the country formally removed a 49% limit on foreign ownership of telecom companies, except for KazakhTeleCom. As of April 2024, the state-owned 71.3% of Kazakhtelecom through Samruk-Kazyna, its sovereign wealth fund.

As of April 2024, the state held a 71.3% stake in the country’s principal telecommunications operator, Kazakhtelecom, through its sovereign wealth fund, Samruk-Kazyna.

It is reported that Kazakhstan does not mandate accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, functional separation has been an obligation since 2013.

It is reported that the telecommunication companies are required to purchase and install equipment related to the state’s System for Operational Investigative Measures (SORM) and to cover costs related to the database of International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) codes and to pay regular fees to the State Radio Frequency Service, which is the IMEI database operator. These obligations may deter new players from entering the market.

Pursuant to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Licensing" and the Law on Permissions and Notifications, the companies providing telecommunications services require an operating license from the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace. It is reported that all telecommunications operators are legally obliged, as part of the licensing requirement, to connect their channels to a public network controlled by KazakhTelecom.

According to Art. 23.6.7 of the Law on National Security, it shall be prohibited that foreigners, stateless persons, and foreign legal entities to directly and (or) indirectly own, use, dispose of and (or) manage cumulatively in excess of 49% of the voting shares, as well as stakes, units of a legal entity engaged in telecommunications as a long-distance and (or) international telecommunications operator, possessing land (cable, including fibre optic, radio relay) communication lines with no positive decision of the Government of Kazakhstan based on the opinion of the authorised body regulating the field of communications, agreed with the national security agencies. It is reported that, in practice, foreign investors must obtain a government waiver for the acquisition of more than 49% of shares in a company providing telecommunication services.

Kazakhstan has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

In accordance with subparagraph 4-1 of Art. 7 of Law No. 544, the Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan ordered the approval of the Rules of Domestic Trade (Order No. 264). Arts. 105-1 and 106-1 of the Rules mandate e-commerce sellers to indicate their BIN (business identification number), address of business operations on the territory of Kazakhstan and mobile telephone number registered in Kazakhstan in order to operate in the country. Additional information on this requirement is found in Annex 3-10 of Order No. 4.