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.

Algeria is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

Art. 6 of Decree No. 20-332 establishes that "the online information activity is subject to the publication through an electronic site, whose hosting is exclusively domiciled, physically and logically in Algeria, with a domain name extension ".dz"."
In addition, Art. 33 of the Law on the Written and Electronic Press mandates that electronic press outlets must operate websites hosted exclusively on physical infrastructure located within Algeria and bearing the ".dz" domain extension.

The Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Order No. 03-05 does not provide any fair use/fair dealing model for copyright exceptions. However, Arts. 33-53 provide a list of wide exceptions. These include: materials that are printed, audio, audio-visual or any other form prepared for school or university education; work converted for personal or family purposes; usage of decorative or illustrative drawing of a literary or artistic work in a publication, in an audio or audio video recording or in audio or audio video programs meant for teaching or professional training as long as it is intended to achieve the targeted purpose; free acting or performing of a work; libraries and document keeping centers, not aiming at making direct or indirect commercial profits, can reproduce a work without the author’s or right owner’s permission in response to a request from another library or document keeping center, or to maintain the work’s copy, or to compensate a damaged, lost or void one; and mass media institutions reproducing, circulating or conveying to the public articles on daily events published by newspapers, radio or television, without permission from the author or reward to him, provided that the author and the source are indicated, unless there is an express provision prohibiting its use for such purposes.

It is reported that digital piracy is pervasive and that enforcement mechanisms lack transparency and consistency, particularly with regard to online platforms and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) piracy.

Algeria has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.