It has been reported that several journalists, members of the political opposition, and other independent entities denounced government interference and illegal monitoring of email and social network accounts.

The Electronic Legal Transactions Act 2017 establishes a safe harbour regime for intermediaries for copyright infringements.
According to Art. 44.2, an intermediary or provider shall not be liable to third parties, including those on whose behalf it provides services in respect of information contained in a data message or electronic record, for actions which, in the exercise of the powers provided for in this Article, it takes in good faith. In addition, under Art. 44.1 if an intermediary or provider has acquired actual knowledge of information or record in electronic form or of a data message that could give rise to civil or criminal liability, it shall remove the relevant information from public access and secure it in any information system as soon as practicable after becoming aware of it. Furthermore, according to Art. 45 an intermediary or provider who only provides a transmission line for data messages, recordings or information in electronic form shall not be liable for the content of such data messages, recordings, or information if the intermediary or provider has no actual knowledge of the material on the network.

Suriname does not have a comprehensive regime of data protection in place. Art. 17 of the Constitution of the Republic of Suriname 1987 provides the baseline for the implementation of a more specific framework as it states that everyone has a right to respect their privacy. Moreover, the Electronic Legal Transactions Act, specifically Arts. 54, 72-74, establishes a framework for the management of personal identification data collected by service providers, inclusive of governmental entities, in the context of electronic transactions.

Suriname has not joined any agreement with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders.

It is reported that the Telecommunication Authority of Suriname (TAS), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is partly independent of the government in the decision-making process. Yet, according to Art. 2 of the Decision Institution TAS 1998, its director is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Minister. Pursuant to Art. 3, the TAS is charged with the preparation, implementation, and control of the tasks assigned to the Minister on telecommunication as an independent authority in the decision-making process.

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

It is reported that Suriname does not mandate functional separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market. However, there is an obligation of accounting separation for operators with SMP according to Art. 18 of the Telecommunications Act (Interconnection Decree No. 25).

According to Art. 9 of the Telecommunications Telecommunications Facilities Act, it is prohibited to build, develop, and operate telecommunications infrastructure without a concession granted by a resolution of the President, upon the advice of the Minister, after hearing the opinion of the Telecommunications Authority of Suriname (TAS). In addition, a concession is granted to a legal person incorporated under Suriname law and established in Suriname. According to the Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) Application and Renewal Form, among the documents required for the licensing processes, foreigners must also present a copy of a valid residency document.
Pursuant to Art. 9.4, a concession shall only be granted if it serves to promote the efficient provision of telecommunications in the general social and economic interest. Furthermore, a concession shall not be granted until the legal person demonstrates that it has at least sufficient financial resources, technical expertise, organizational capacity, and experience in telecommunications (Art. 9.5).
According to Arts. 13 and 36, every provider of telecommunication services is obliged to obtain a license from the Telecommunication Authority of Suriname (TAS) for regulated and non-regulated services and to fulfill obligations according to the ITU Convention.

According to the Art. 2-3 (Chapter 2) of the Explanatory Memorandum of the Telecommunications Act, the government is the sole shareholder in TELESUR, one of the two telecommunications companies currently active in the country.

There is no obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the country to deliver telecom services to end users, and it is not practised in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector.

Suriname lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

Suriname has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

Suriname has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Copyright is not adequately enforced online in the country.

Suriname is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).