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
Section 4 of the Interception of Communications Act allows for certain authorised individuals to apply to a court for a warrant to intercept and record specified communications. Under section 12(1), if the authorised officers comes into the possession of a “protected communication”, or is likely to do so, and they have reasonable grounds to believe that (a) a key to the communication is in the possession of any person; and (b) disclosure of the key is necessary for the purposes of the investigations in relation to which the warrant was issued, they may apply to a court for a disclosure order requiring the person whom he believes to have possession of the key to provide disclosure in respect of the protected communication. The court making the order must take into account (a) the extent and nature of any protected communication, in addition to the intercepted communication, to which the key is also a key; and (b) any adverse effect that complying with the order might have on a business carried on by the person to whom the order is addressed, and shall require only such disclosure as is proportionate to what is sought to be achieved, allowing, where appropriate, for disclosure in such manner as would result in the putting of the communication in intelligible form other than by disclosure of the key itself. Under section 13(1), the person to whom the disclosure order is addressed (a) shall be entitled to use any key in his possession to obtain access to the protected communication; and (b) in accordance with the order, shall disclose the protected communication in an intelligible form. Failure to comply with a disclosure order is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to GYD 1,000,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. A copy of the Interception of Communications Act can be found here .
Obligations on providers to assist authorities
Section 4 of the Interception of Communications Act allows for certain authorised individuals to apply to a court for a warrant to intercept and record specified communications. Under section 12(1), if the authorised officers comes into the possession of a “protected communication”, or is likely to do so, and they have reasonable grounds to believe that (a) a key to the communication is in the possession of any person; and (b) disclosure of the key is necessary for the purposes of the investigations in relation to which the warrant was issued, they may apply to a court for a disclosure order requiring the person whom he believes to have possession of the key to provide disclosure in respect of the protected communication. The court making the order must take into account (a) the extent and nature of any protected communication, in addition to the intercepted communication, to which the key is also a key; and (b) any adverse effect that complying with the order might have on a business carried on by the person to whom the order is addressed, and shall require only such disclosure as is proportionate to what is sought to be achieved, allowing, where appropriate, for disclosure in such manner as would result in the putting of the communication in intelligible form other than by disclosure of the key itself. Under section 13(1), the person to whom the disclosure order is addressed (a) shall be entitled to use any key in his possession to obtain access to the protected communication; and (b) in accordance with the order, shall disclose the protected communication in an intelligible form. Failure to comply with a disclosure order is a criminal offence punishable by a fine of up to GYD 1,000,000, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. A copy of the Interception of Communications Act can be found here .
Assessment Text Area
There is currently no legislation regarding the general right to encryption, nor regulations on the strength of encryption technology, its licensing, or sale. Guyanese law does allow certain authorised individuals to apply for a warrant to intercept and record specified communications if they have reasonable grounds to believe that (a) a key to the communication is in the possession of any person; and (b) disclosure of the key is necessary for the purposes of the investigations. If these criteria are met, authorised individuals may apply to a court for a disclosure order. Failure to comply with a disclosure order is a criminal offence punishable by a fine, imprisonment, or both.
Murphy's Law