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
No known legislation or policies.
Obligations on individuals to assist authorities
Article 88quater of the Code of Criminal Instruction provides a power for examining magistrates and other officials to order anyone with particular knowledge of a computer system that is the subject of a search warrant, or of services or applications which encrypt data to provide information on how to access content that has been encrypted and to make it accessible in a particular format. A further provision allows similar orders to be made to any appropriate person to operate the computer system themselves to make information accessible in a particular format. They must then do so to the best of their capabilities. Refusal to provide such technical assistance, if requested, is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years, a fine of between 26 EUR and 20,000 EUR, or both. Where that assistance would prevent a crime, and they fail to provide it, the punishment is imprisonment of between one and five years, a fine of 500 EUR to 50,000 EUR, or both. A copy of the Code of Criminal Instruction (in French) can be found here .
Obligations on providers to assist authorities
Article 18/17 of the Law of 30 November 1998, Organic Law on the Intelligence and Security Services, allows the intelligence and security services to intercept communications and record them, although Article 18/10 requires prior authorisation in such cases from an independent commission. Under Article 18/17, if an operation on an electronic communications network is necessary for the interception and recording to take place, the head of the intelligence and security services can make a written request for technical assistance to a network operator or provider of an electronic communications service. Failure to comply with such a request is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of between 26 EUR and 20,000 EUR. A copy of the law (in French) can be found here . Article 127 of the Law of 13 June 2005, Law on Electronic Communications, allows the King to establish technical and administrative measures with which operators must comply, in order to be able to identify end users, identify their location, listen to their communications, and record the communications. Under the Royal Order of 12 October 2010, these measures include being able to transmit the content of a call clearly in circumstances where operator of the electronic communications network or the provider of an electronic communications service has used encryption. As such, operators and service providers need to be able decrypt any encryption that they use with regards to communications. A copy of the law (in French) can be found here . A copy of the Royal Order (in French) can be found here . Article 90ter of the Code of Criminal Procedure allows, limited circumstances, and only where authorised by the Royal Prosecutor, an examining magistrate to secretly intercept, take knowledge, explore and record non-publicly accessible communications or data from a computer system or part of it, or to search a computer system or part thereof. Where undertaken, the examining magistrate may also, without the knowledge or consent of the owner, to install technical devices in the relevant computer systems to decrypt data stored, processed or transmitted. Under the Royal Order of 9 January 2003, operators and electronic communications service providers must be technically able to transmit the content of communications clearly in circumstances where they have used encryption. As such, operators and service providers need to be able decrypt any encryption that they use with regards to communications. Article 90quartier allows the examining magistrate to require the assistance of an operator of an electronic communications work or a provider of an electronic communications service so as to be able undertake the measures. They must then do so to the best of their capabilities. Refusal to provide such technical assistance, if requested, is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of between 26 EUR and 20,000 EUR. A copy of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in French) can be found here . A copy of the Royal Order (in French) can be found here .
Assessment Text Area
A range of legislation exists in Belgium providing different government agencies with the power to either intercept communications, require network operators to support interception or decryption of encrypted data, and the ability to require specific persons to decrypt encrypted data in a computer system that is the subject of a search warrant. Some of these powers, particularly those relating to interception, are limited to intelligence and security agencies. Safeguards exist for the deployment of these powers, although these are limited.
Murphy's Law