The Democratic Republic of Congo has not joined any free trade agreement committing to open transfers of cross-border data flows.

DRC lacks a comprehensive legislative framework on data protection. However, there is a sectoral regulation. Decision No. 016/ARPTC/CLG/2006 of the College of the Regulatory Authority of Post and Telecommunications of Congo mandates operators to take necessary measures to guarantee the respect of essential requirements and, in particular, the protection of data, including personal data, privacy and confidentiality of information treated, transferred and stored (Art. 9). In addition, the Law No. 20/017 of 25 November 2020 related to telecommunications and Information and Communications Technology provides that any treatment of personal data shall be done with the consent of the concerned user or on the requisition of the state prosecutor (Articles 131) and "The collection, registration, treatment, storage and transfer of personal data shall be done upon authorisation of the concerned user or competent public authority as stipulated in Article 126 of the present law" (Art. 132).

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in DRC's law and jurisprudence.

A basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in DRC's law and jurisprudence.

According to Art. 92 of Law No. 20/017 of 25 November 2020 relating to Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies, any operator of a telecommunications network open to the public or any provider of telecommunications services Internet access is required to identify its subscribers at the time of subscription to telecommunications services., In addition, Art. 93 strengthens this by indicating that no connection to the network can be granted without prior identification. Moreover, according to Art. 94, the State reserves the right to interrupt any connection of the subscriber who is not or has been misidentified.

With the Law No. 20/017 of 2020, which governs the telecommunications sector, the government is given the power to take over the means of communication in the interest of national security. Art. 125 provides that the State may prohibit the use of telecommunication facilities, in full or in part, for any period of time, as it deems fit, in the interests of public security or national defence, the public telecommunications service, or for any other reason. In June 2018, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information signed a Ministerial Order strengthening the control of online media (Ministerial Order No 011/CAB/M-CM/LOM/2018).

The DRC lacks a comprehensive regime for the protection of trade secrets.

The indicator "6.2.4 - Government Internet shut down in practice" of the V-Dem Dataset, which measures whether the government has the technical capacity to actively make internet service cease, thus interrupting domestic access to the internet or whether the government has decided to do so, has a score of 2 in the DRC for the year 2023. This corresponds to "The government shut down domestic access to the Internet several times this year."

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in the Democratic Republic of Congo to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practised in both the mobile and fixed sectors based on commercial agreements.

According to Art. 40 of Law No. 20/017 on Telecommunications and Information and Communication Technologies, the legal entity benefiting from a licence must adopt the form of a Société Anonyme (‘S.A’). Without prejudice to agreements and conventions to which the Congolese State is a party, at least thirty per cent (30%) of the share capital of the aforementioned company must be allocated as follows:
- At least 25% must be held by Congolese natural or legal persons whose shares are owned by Congolese natural persons. This subscription must be paid within three years of the company’s incorporation.
- 5% is reserved for Congolese employees of the company.
In the event that the 30% threshold mentioned above is not met, the company may still be incorporated, provided the share reserved for Congolese workers is guaranteed.

The incumbent telecom provider, Société Congolaise des Postes et Télécommunication (SCPT), is a state-owned enterprise that enjoys temporary exclusivity in owning and exclusively operating the national backbone. Temporary exclusivity also consists of owning the reference network to which any operator concessionaire of public service is required to interconnect and through which it passes its national and international traffic.
Therefore, any telecommunications network established or used for public needs is required to interconnect with the network of the public operator through which all national networks are interconnected.

It is reported that The Democratic Republic of Congo has established accounting separation by law for the operators with significant market power. However, functional separation for operators with significant market power is not required by law.

According to Art. 22 of Law No. 20/017, any natural or legal person governed by Congolese law may provide telecommunications services, provided they fulfil the following conditions: (i) have a residence, domicile, or registered head office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; (ii) provide proof of registration in the Trade and Personal Property Credit Register (RCCM); and (iii) demonstrate the technical and financial capacity to operate under the scheme applied for.
Art. 91 of Law No. 20/017, which resembles Art. 50 of the repealed Law No. 013/2002 on Telecommunications states that intermediaries must cooperate with law enforcement authorities in investigations. The refusal to grant the request of the authority may lead to the temporary or definitive withdrawal of the operating license or other penalties. This buttresses Art. 4 of Decree-Law 1-61, which provides that when it is a matter of national security, refusal to cooperate with law enforcement implies complicity and a "presumption of guilt".

With the Law No. 20/017 of 2020, which governs the telecommunications sector, the government is given the power to take over the means of communication in the interest of national security. Art. 125 provides that the State may prohibit the use of telecommunication facilities, in full or in part, for any period of time, as it deems fit, in the interests of public security or national defence, the public telecommunications service, or for any other reason. In June 2018, the Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Information signed a Ministerial Order strengthening the control of online media (Ministerial Order No 011/CAB/M-CM/LOM/2018).

The Democratic Republic of Congo has only partially appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.