Nicaragua does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation since 2025. Pursuant to Art. 110 of the General Act on Convergent Telecommunications (Law No. 1223), SMP operators and service providers must provide information on costs, revenues, and assets disaggregated by service, based on a regulatory accounting system they are required to implement in accordance with the rules issued by the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (TELCOR) for that purpose.

Nicaragua has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

The country has a telecommunications authority: The Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post (TELCOR). However, it is reported that the decision-making process of this entity is not fully independent from the government. Art. 1 of Decree-Law No. 1053 - Organic Law of the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services establishes the TELCOR as the main regulatory body for telecommunications providers. The Institute is meant to operate as a decentralised entity with independent assets. However, it is reported that TELCOR fails to uphold the principles of neutrality and independence, as it is essentially a government institution that responds to government policies.

According to Art. 14 of the Personal Data Protection Law, the assignment and transfer of personal data of any kind to countries or international organisations that do not provide adequate levels of security and protection is prohibited. Art. 14 further states that the transfer to foreign countries is allowed in certain circumstances, including international judicial collaboration, exchange of personal data in health matters, bank or stock transfers, agreed transfer within international treaties, or international cooperation between intelligence agencies regarding crimes regulated in Law No. 735 for the prosecution of organised crime.

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

The Personal Data Protection Law and its regulations constitute the framework for data protection. Moreover, the Political Constitution of Nicaragua also provides certain general rights concerning privacy and data collection.

Art. 19.f of the Personal Data Protection Law stipulates that every individual has the right to have their personal data retained for five years, or for the period agreed between the parties under the applicable contractual provisions, and likewise when such data is no longer adequate, proportionate, or necessary for the scope and purposes for which it was initially collected. Art. 24 further provides that personal data files collected and processed for administrative purposes must be retained for five years.

According to Art. 36 of Law No. 1042, telecom providers must retain data for all users for one year. A local judge may issue an order, at the National Police or Prosecutor General’s request, to force internet providers to release specific information about an individual customer, as well as collect, extract, or record data about this customer, such as real-time data traffic.
As part of the implementation of Law No. 1042, the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services (TELCOR) published Administrative Agreement 001-2021 on Regulations for the Preservation of Data and Information. Art. 3 requires telecommunications companies to collect and preserve any data necessary to trace a communication; identify the recipient of a communication; determine the time, date, and duration of a communication; identify the type of communication, such as mobile phone, internet, or landline phone; identify the equipment used to conduct a communication; and identify the geolocation of the equipment used for communication. In addition, companies offering community repeaters and trunk links must be able to submit information on the services they provide. Art. 5 of the agreement further requires companies to store the relevant information for up to 12 months.

Nicaragua has a copyright regime governed by Law No. 312. However, the exceptions do not follow the fair use or fair dealing model, which limits the lawful use of copyrighted works by others. Arts. 31-43 outline the exceptions, including the reproduction of copyrighted works by means of reprography for teaching purposes, the reproduction of isolated articles published in the press or short extracts from a work, the reproduction of works for private use by the blind, and the use of a work for parody purposes, among others.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in Nicaragua. It is reported that there are concerns about optical discs, broadcast media piracy, the use of unlicensed software, and inadequate IP enforcement in the country.

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

Nicaragua is a signatory of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Information Technology Agreement (ITA) of 1996 but is not a signatory of its 2015 expansion (ITA II).

Under Art. 167 of Presidential Decree No. 07-2025, foreign contractors may subcontract part of the services for which they are responsible only where they commit to providing capacity-building and technology transfer to national subcontractors. The Decree further provides that subcontracting should preferably be carried out with micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, pursuant to Section 100, the evaluation of bids is conducted in two stages, first a technical assessment and subsequently an economic assessment. At the technical stage, the contracting entity assesses proposals against qualitative factors, including knowledge transfer and the participation of nationals.