Online safety & content laws in Algeria (2026)

Algeria enacted three interlinked laws in 2023–2024: the Organic Law on Information, the Law on Written and Electronic Press (in force June 2024), and the Law on Audiovisual Activity (in force December 2024). Together they extend state regulatory authority over digital platforms, prohibit content undermining national defence, territorial integrity, or public morality, and allow the Written and Electronic Press Regulatory Authority to suspend websites or publications for up to 30 days.

The 2024 Audiovisual Activity Law requires online audiovisual services to host content exclusively on servers physically located in Algeria and use the national '.dz' domain. It also establishes a 60% local content quota for digital platforms and extends the Audiovisual Regulatory Authority's jurisdiction to content distributed via digital channels.

Law No. 09-04 of 5 August 2009 on the Prevention and Combating of ICT Crimes (Official Gazette No. 47) authorises electronic surveillance of communications to detect terrorism, subversive activities, or threats to state security. Decree 21-439 (November 2021) reorganised the National Authority for Prevention and Combating ICT Crimes, reinforcing its preventive surveillance mandate.

Algeria systematically shuts down the internet and blocks social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X, WhatsApp) during national high-school diploma examinations each year to prevent cheating. Broader shutdowns have also occurred during political protests. These practices are documented by Internet Society Pulse and Access Now's #KeepItOn campaign.

Algerian authorities have blocked multiple independent news websites without judicial order, including TSA (Tout Sur l'Algérie, blocked since 2017), Radio M, Maghreb Emergent, Interlignes, and Casbah Tribune. RSF has documented ongoing access restrictions to these outlets.

A draft law circulated in 2025 would require major foreign platforms to establish local legal entities in Algeria, store user data locally, and remove illegal content within 24 hours — modelled loosely on the EU DSA and Australia's Online Safety Act. It had not been enacted as of May 2026.