It is reported that there is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in El Salvador to deliver telecom services to end users. However, it is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

El Salvador does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation under the Telecommunications Law Regulations. According to Art. 25 of the Regulations, in order to ensure the allocation of differentiated costs for the establishment of the maximum values of basic interconnection charges and basic rates for fixed and mobile telephony, operators must keep separate accounts.

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

According to Art. 1 of the Decree. No. 808, the Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications of El Salvador, which is the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Art. 44 of the Law for the Protection of Personal Data stipulates that international transfers of personal data are permitted only when the recipient country adheres to the principles set out in this Law or the transfers are conducted through recognised international standards. Where the recipient country lacks an adequate level of protection, the transferring country must ensure compliance with this Law during data processing. Regardless of the recipient country’s protection level, data controllers must adopt appropriate and effective measures to ensure both the proper handling of the transferred data and the security of records at the time of transfer. An exception applies to transfers carried out under Central American Economic Integration treaties, where data transfers may proceed in accordance with the terms legally agreed by member states. In all cases, prior consent from the data subject is required, unless international instruments provide otherwise and such provisions are reciprocally applied among the signatory countries.

El Salvador lacks binding commitments on open transfers of cross-border data flows. Art. 14.5 of the Central America-Dominican Republic-US Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) incorporates a provision relating to cooperation on the free flow of data. However, this provision is not binding; instead, it proposes collaboration on this issue.

The Law for the Protection of Personal Data establishes a comprehensive regulatory framework for data protection in El Salvador. It grants data subjects the rights of access, rectification, erasure, and objection to direct marketing. The Law imposes obligations on both public and private entities, including the requirement to obtain prior consent for data processing, and compliance with provisions concerning data transfers and the processing of sensitive data. It also designates the State Cybersecurity Agency as the supervisory authority and provides for sanctions in cases of non-compliance. In addition, the Consumer Protection Law, as amended in 2018, regulates the financial sector and e-commerce, and sets out obligations regarding the security and confidentiality of consumer personal information.

Under Art. 15 of the Law for the Protection of Personal Data, entities that process personal data are required to appoint a data protection officer.

Art. 5 of the Law for the Regulation of Information Services on Credit History of Persons states that the Central Reserve Bank shall have unrestricted access to the databases of public law institutions or private entities containing real-time credit history data information on individuals.

The Intellectual Property Law establishes a safe harbour regime under which intermediaries that control computer systems connected to digital communication networks may be exempted from liability for copyright infringements committed through their systems. Arts. 305.n and 306 jointly provide that operators and other intermediaries are liable only when they have actual or duly substantiated notice of infringing activity, or when the infringement could not reasonably be ignored without gross negligence. Once placed on notice, intermediaries must act promptly to remove or disable access to the infringing material in order to retain the safe harbour protection. They are exempt from liability when acting in good faith and adopting appropriate technical measures to prevent or halt unauthorised uses of protected works.
In addition, Art. 24 of the Law of Electronic Commerce establishes that providers offering internet access services or data transmission via telecommunications networks shall not be held liable for electronic commercial transactions carried out by users in respect of the goods or services acquired, nor for the information transmitted or its content, unless the provider itself has initiated the transmission, altered the data, or selected the data or their intended recipients.

El Salvador is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

El Salvador maintains a copyright framework under its Intellectual Property Law. The statutory exceptions do not align with either the fair use or fair dealing models, therefore restricting the lawful use of copyrighted works by third parties. Chapter II of Book II sets out the relevant exceptions. These include, among others, that with respect to works that have been lawfully disclosed, it is permitted, without authorisation or remuneration to the author, to reproduce a single copy of a computer program exclusively for backup or security purposes, and to load the program into the internal memory of a device solely to enable its use by a user (Art. 45). In addition, the adaptation of a computer program carried out by the user for their exclusive use does not constitute a modification of the work (Art. 49).
Similarly, Chapter III of Title Two in the previous Intellectual Property Law enumerated exceptions that also did not follow the fair use or fair dealing models.

It is reported that El Salvador’s enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR) protections falls short of the standards set out in its formal legal frameworks, and that Salvadoran authorities possess limited resources to allocate to the effective enforcement of IPR legislation. Trade in pirated software remains prevalent.

El Salvador has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

El Salvador has adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.