The Data Protection and Privacy Act of 2019 protects the privacy of individual and personal data by regulating the collection and processing of personal data as well as the use or disclosure of personal information collected. Section 7(1) provides that in the collection and processing of personal data, the data subject must consent and in 7(3), without that consent the data collector must stop collection of that data.

Section 19 of the Act indicates that data can be stored either locally or outside Uganda, but the data processor must ensure that the country in which that data is stored has sufficient protection measures or that the data subject consents to such processing and storage of data outside Uganda.

Uganda has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

Uganda has appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

It is reported that Uganda does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation.

It is reported that in 2019, telecom operators experienced issues resulting from the implementation of the Uganda Communications Act and the Uganda Communications (Licencing) Regulations by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). The framework requires applicants to pay separate fees for operating in different regions, in addition to the mandatory application fees and 2% levy on gross annual earnings. It is reported that some pundits have raised concerns over the new licensing framework, noting that it may disrupt the sector, leading to overregulation, while others criticized new fees levied under the framework, arguing that many other levies and taxes already overburden the sector.
In March 2021, the UCC granted Lycamobile a National Telecom Operator (NTO) license, the third company to receive such a license alongside MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda. According to the UCC, Lycamobile is required to expand its network coverage to 90% of Ugandan territory within five years under the NTO license terms.
MTN Uganda, a South African firm, had been holding a NTO license, but under the new provisions a holder of the NTO license was required to have at least 95% of national geographical coverage, while MTN Uganda coverage only went up to 65%. In addition, the fees for the licenses were reassessed, meaning that they had to pay fee higher than what was stipulated in the repealed guidelines and regulations. The license renewal process eventually took two years.

While there is no regulation restricting foreign equity shares in telecommunications companies, MTN Uganda issued an Initial Public Offering (IPO) restricted to Ugandans and citizens from the East African Community in 2021. Non-East African investors were therefore excluded from participating in the equity acquisition in this case.

Following the privatization of Uganda Telecom Ltd (UTL) in the 1990s, the Government held minority shares in the company up until 2017 when the rest of the shareholders unilaterally pulled out from the financially struggling company, leaving the state as a sole owner. UTL is currently under receivership.

The Trade Secrets Protection Act No. 2 of 2009 provides a framework for effective protection of trade secrets.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Uganda to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

Uganda has ratified the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Under Section 11 of Act No. 2, trade secrets may be required to be submitted to a government department, but the department must protect the information submitted to it from disclosure.

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

Uganda has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair use model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Section 15 of the Copyright and Related Rights Act No. 19 of 2006 establishes a list of exceptions that includes the use of a work for purposes of production, translation, adaptation, arrangement or other transformation solely for private personal use; the incorporation of a quotation from a published work, including those from newspapers or periodicals in the form of a press summary, in another work; and the use of a published work for educational purposes, provided that an appropriate illustration is made and the work and its author are acknowledged, among other situations.