Encryption Law by Country
Where strong encryption is a right, restricted, or compelled. National law and policy, mirrored per country.
Source: Global Partners Digital, World Map of Encryption, updated 2026-07-02. Full data at www.gp-digital.org/world-map-of-encryption
Encryption Law by Country (196)
General right to encryption
No known legislation or policies.
Mandatory minimum or maximum encryption strength
No known legislation or policies.
Licensing/registration requirements
No known legislation or policies.
Import/export controls
No known legislation or policies.
Other restrictions
Section 9(1) of the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 creates a criminal offence of “misuse of encryption”, namely where a person intentionally, without lawful excuse or justification, and for the purpose of commission of an offence or concealment of evidence of any criminal matter, encrypts any communication or data contained in an electronic message or an electronic system. The offence is punishable by a fine of up to XCD 250,000, imprisonment of up to five years or both. A copy of the Electronic Crimes Act, 2013 can be found here and a copy of the Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2018 can be found here.
Obligations on individuals to assist authorities
Section 19 of the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 provides that where a police officer has reason to believe that stored data would be relevant for the purposes of an investigation or the prosecution of an offence, they shall apply to a magistrate or judge for a warrant to enter any premises to access, search and seize that data. In executing a warrant, the police officer has the power to “access any information, code or technology which has the capability of transforming or unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to an electronic system into readable and comprehensible format or text” and to “require a person in possession of the decryption information to grant the police officer access to such decryption information necessary to decrypt data”. Failure to comply with a request to assist a police officer is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to XCD 50,000, imprisonment of up to twelve months or both. A copy of the Electronic Crimes Act, 2013 can be found here and a copy of the Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2018 can be found here .
Obligations on providers to assist authorities
Section 19 of the Electronic Crimes Act 2013 provides that where a police officer has reason to believe that stored data would be relevant for the purposes of an investigation or the prosecution of an offence, they shall apply to a magistrate or judge for a warrant to enter any premises to access, search and seize that data. In executing a warrant, the police officer has the power to “access any information, code or technology which has the capability of transforming or unscrambling encrypted data contained or available to an electronic system into readable and comprehensible format or text” and to “require a person in possession of the decryption information to grant the police officer access to such decryption information necessary to decrypt data”. Failure to comply with a request to assist a police officer is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to XCD 50,000, imprisonment of up to twelve months or both. A copy of the Electronic Crimes Act, 2013 can be found here and a copy of the Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2018 can be found here .
Assessment Text Area
Although the country does not have specific guidelines on the use of encryption, the law criminalises “misuse of encryption”, where a person intentionally and for the purpose of commission of an offence or concealment of evidence of any criminal matter encrypts any data. Additionally, police officers who have reason to believe that stored data would be relevant for the purposes of an investigation or the prosecution of an offence can apply for a warrant to enter any premises to access, search and seize that data. The warrant allows the officer to access any “any information, code or technology” necessary to decrypt the seized data.
Murphy's Law