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Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

Sierra Leone’s digital agenda is being built around a dense policy stack. The main anchors are the Digital Development Policy (2021), the National Digital Development Strategy (2023), the National Data Strategy (2023), the National Innovation and Digital Strategy (2019–2029), and the National Broadband Strategy (2023–2028), listed by the Ministry of Communication, Technology and Innovation. In the UN’s 2024 index, Sierra Leone ranked 172/193 overall in e-government, but its E-Participation rank improved to 120/193 from 157/193 in 2022, a notable gain in citizen-facing digital engagement.

Data first, AI next

Sierra Leone is advancing a draft data protection law, described by authorities in 2025 as the country’s first comprehensive framework for regulating personal data. The proposed legislation follows nationwide consultationsand is intended to define rules for data collection, processing, and oversight in a context where no full data protection regime is yet in force. In parallel, the government has launched an AI readiness assessmentto examine infrastructure, skills, and regulatory capacity as a basis for a future national AI strategy. These processes are led by the government ministry responsible for information, communication, and innovation, with support from international partners.

The data protection reform would sit alongside the older Right of Access to Information Act, 2013, which already gives Sierra Leone a transparency framework.

Regarding AI governance, Sierra Leone is still in a preparation phase. In late 2025, MoCTI said it was leading an AI Readiness Assessment with World Bank support to evaluate infrastructure, skills, and the policy environment ahead of a future national AI strategy.

On cybersecurity and infrastructure, Sierra Leone has moved further from strategy into operational capability. The legal basis is the CYBERSECURITY STRATEGY (2021 – 2025), the National CyberSecurity Policy, and the Cyber Security and Crime Act. In January 2025, the National Cybersecurity Coordination Centre announced the launch of a national CSIRT (National Computer Security Incident Response Team) and digital forensics lab. 

Regarding digital infrastructure and resilience, the government’s Digital Transformation Project states that Sierra Leone still relies on a single submarine fibre cable, which is why discussions on a second submarine cable began in 2025.

Sierra Leone’s digital economy is in continuous growth. E-commerce is still nascent, with mobile-money services such as Orange Money, Africell Money, and WAVE serving as the main payment rails, while MoCTI’s published Electronic Transaction Bill 2019 sets the legal basis for online transactions. The 5G network technology plan is embedded in the National Broadband Strategy, while cloud and other emerging technologies are being developed through digital-economy and infrastructure plans.

Related news on dig.watch

• Sierra Leone commits to digital IDs as the cornerstone of its digital transition

Sierra Leone’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

Sierra Leone’s Permanent Mission in Geneva is the country’s diplomatic hub for relations with the UN Office at Geneva, the WTO, and other international organisations, while also functioning as Sierra Leone’s embassy to Switzerland.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/sierra-leone

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Consult Sierra Leone’s digital strategies and regulations

Here you can explore the country’s main digital strategies, laws, and regulations by simply asking the chatbot, which is designed to help you quickly find relevant documents and understand the country’s digital policy landscape.

Main digital policies and regulations in the country:

• Digital development policy
• National Innovation and Digital Strategy 2019 – 2029
• NATIONAL DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
• NATIONAL DATA STRATEGY
• National Broadband Strategy (2023 – 2028)
• NATIONAL CYBERSECURITY POLICY
• Cyber Security and Crime Act, 2021
• National Communications Authority Act, 2022
• Right of Access to Information Act, 2013
• National Civil Registration Act, 2016
• National Payment Systems Act, 2022
• National Cybersecurity Strategy 2021
• The Electronic Transaction Bill 2019

Follow Sierra Leone’s digital submarine cables

Explore the map to see the country’s submarine cable connections and how they link the country to regional and global internet infrastructure.

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

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Bahamas’ Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

Official UNOG website: “””””””””””” https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/netherlands

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Consult the Bahamas’ digital strategies and regulations

Here you can explore the country’s main digital strategies, laws, and regulations by simply asking the chatbot, which is designed to help you quickly find relevant documents and understand the country’s digital policy landscape.

Main digital policies and regulations in the country:

Follow the Bahamas’ digital submarine cables

Vanuatu has made notable progress in digital access: by early 2025, internet penetration reached approximately 45.7 %, with around 151,000 users, while social media usage stood at 39.3 % of the population—among the higher rates in the least developed Pacific nations. Mobile connectivity is particularly strong, with 315,000 mobile connections, amounting to 95 % of the population; remarkably, nearly 96.4 % of these connections support broadband (3G/4G) services—placing Vanuatu among the top regional performers in mobile‐broadband diffusion.

From an infrastructure standpoint, Vanuatu benefits from relatively high mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (66.5) and a high active SIM penetration (82.5 %)—well above regional averages and indicating strong mobile access and digital inclusion potential across urban and provincial areas. While fixed‑broadband remains modest, the widespread mobile broadband adoption positions Vanuatu ahead of many Pacific peers in connectivity resilience and access scalability.

Despite its small scale, Vanuatu’s digital ecosystem is strategically positioned—supported by infrastructure like the ICN1 submarine cable, local digital platforms, and inclusive awareness initiatives. These factors combine to deliver some of the highest mobile‑broadband coverage and active SIM penetration rates in the Pacific.

Consult Vanuatu’s AI and digital strategies and regulations

Follow Vanuatu’s digital submarine cables

Uruguay has one of the highest internet penetration rates in Latin America, with over 90% of households connected to the internet. This widespread connectivity results from initiatives like Plan Ceibal, which provided laptops and internet access to students nationwide, helping bridge the digital divide. Uruguay’s government has implemented comprehensive e-government platforms that allow citizens to access a wide range of public services online. The Agencia de Gobierno Electrónico y Sociedad de la Información y del Conocimiento (AGESIC) oversees these efforts, ensuring that digital services are user-friendly and secure.

Consult Uruguay’s AI and digital strategies and regulations

Follow Uruguay’s digital submarine cables

Timor-Leste’s strongest digital asset is its demographic profile and mobile reach. Over 70% of the population is under 35, one of the highest youth shares in the world, with a median age of approximately 20, providing the country with a significant ‘digital native’ base for future adoption. Mobile penetration is high for a low-income, small state: there were around 1.67–1.75 million mobile connections in 2024–2025, equivalent to roughly 120–124% of the population, and Timor-Leste is among the Southeast Asian markets where more than a quarter of smartphone users are mobile-only, rarely using Wi-Fi.

In terms of the online information environment, Timor-Leste is a regional outlier in a positive sense. On RSF’s World Press Freedom Index, it ranked 20th of 180 countries in 2024, still classed as ‘relatively free’ and explicitly described as one of Asia’s leading countries for press freedom. A 2025 legal analysis notes that Timor-Leste now has the best press-freedom score in ASEAN, making it the bloc’s top performer on this media and online-expression indicator as it moves toward full membership.

Timor-Leste also exhibits notable strengths in youth digital engagement and emerging digital finance, compared to many countries at a similar income level. Studies highlight that young people are active on social media and increasingly visible as digital rights advocates, while initiatives like the UNDP’s Youth Accelerator Lab utilise online tools and even AI-supported polling to incorporate youth perspectives into national policymaking. In the financial services sector, despite low overall literacy, approximately a quarter of adults already use digital or mobile wallets, and these services now reach the majority of villages, positioning Timor-Leste among the more dynamic digital payment environments in the Pacific’s least-developed economies.

Consult Timor-Leste’s digital strategies and regulations

Follow Timor-Leste’s digital submarine cables

Digital snapshot – key policies and laws

The United States has one of the world’s most influential digital ecosystems, combining advanced public-sector capacity, global technology firms, deep capital markets and strategic control over key layers of the internet economy. In the UN E-Government Survey 2024, it remains among the countries with very high digital government development, but its governance model is less centralised than many peers. Digital policy is distributed across the White House, Congress, federal agencies, courts, states and private infrastructure operators.

USA’s AI race

The United States’ AI governance has moved from a mainly risk-management debate toward a strategy of technological leadership. In January 2025, the White House ordered federal agencies to remove barriers to American leadership in artificial intelligence, setting the tone for a more competition-oriented approach. The shift became clearer with America’s AI Action Plan, released in July 2025 under the title ‘Winning the AI Race’, which links AI policy to innovation, infrastructure, exports, standards and national security. Its focus is on the physical and economic base of AI: data centres, chips, energy, cloud capacity, workforce skills and international market influence. A June 2026 executive order on advanced AI innovation and security reinforced this direction by treating AI as a national-power asset that must be protected from external threats while being adopted across government and critical systems. At the same time, a December 2025 order sought to avoid a fragmented patchwork of state AI rules through a national AI policy framework. The result is a governance model that still speaks of trust and security, but increasingly treats AI as industrial infrastructure, geopolitical leverage and an exam of state capacity.

The National Cybersecurity Strategy frames cyber resilience as essential to the economy, critical infrastructure, democratic institutions, privacy and national defence. Operationally, CISA’s Cybersecurity Strategic Plan FY2024–2026 promotes collaboration, accountability and secure-by-design technology, shifting responsibility upstream from users to technology providers. The cybersecurity policy also covers zero trust, post-quantum cryptography, software security, national security systems and critical infrastructure protection.

Regarding data protection, the Federal Trade Commission, sectoral laws, state privacy statutes and breach-notification rules shape most consumer and business obligations. The Department of Justice’s Data Security Program, in force since April 2025, restricts certain transactions that could expose Americans’ bulk sensitive personal data or US government-related data to countries of concern. Platform governance follows the same mixed pattern, combining Section 230 protections, child-safety rules, marketplace duties, court decisions and national-security interventions such as the TikTok divest-or-ban case.

Connectivity policy is shaped by scale and inequality. The BEAD programme, a USD 42.45 billion federal grant programme, aims to connect all Americans to high-speed internet, with states and territories implementing deployment plans. Wireless and 5G policy is closely linked to the National Spectrum Strategy, which seeks to balance commercial innovation with federal missions. The United States is also a major submarine-cable hub: the FCC issues submarine cable landing licences, while national-security reviews increasingly treat cables, landing stations and foreign ownership as strategic risks.

The digital economy is large, mature and platform-based. US retail e-commerce reached USD 326.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, accounting for 16.9% of total retail sales, showing how online commerce has become part of ordinary retail rather than a separate channel. Governance relies on consumer-protection enforcement, competition policy, tax rules, payment regulation, marketplace transparency, privacy obligations and cybersecurity duties.

Federal agencies are guided by the Cloud Smart strategy, while US-based hyperscalers dominate global cloud, AI compute and data-centre markets. AI governance remains decentralised: the NIST AI Risk Management Framework provides voluntary guidance for trustworthy AI, and OMB rules on federal AI use set requirements for agency adoption, governance and public trust. Semiconductors, quantum technologies, satellite connectivity, data centres and AI infrastructure and post-quantum security are increasingly treated not only as innovation priorities, but as infrastructure for national resilience and strategic competitiveness.

Related news on dig.watch

• Workers demand human oversight as AI reshapes workplaces in USA
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• NVIDIA and Palantir expand sovereign AI for US government
• US community lenders oppose stablecoin provisions in crypto bill

The USA’s Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva:

The Permanent Mission of the United States of America to the UN and Other International Organizations in Geneva represents the United States across Geneva’s multilateral system. Through its engagement with UN bodies and specialised organisations in Geneva, the mission advances US foreign policy priorities, supports international cooperation, and participates in negotiations on issues that shape global governance.

Official UNOG website: https://www.ungeneva.org/en/blue-book/missions/member-states/united-states-america

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Consult the USA’s digital strategies and regulations

Here you can explore the country’s main digital strategies, laws, and regulations by simply asking the chatbot, which is designed to help you quickly find relevant documents and understand the country’s digital policy landscape.

Main digital policies and regulations in the country:

• President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America
• Federal Zero Trust Strategy — Moving the US Government Toward Zero Trust Cybersecurity Principles
• National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy
• America’s AI Action Plan
• US Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology
• US Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology: Implementation Roadmap
• United States International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy
• Federal Data Strategy
• Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan
• National Strategy to Secure 5G
• National Strategy to Secure 5G Implementation Plan
• CISA 5G Strategy
• National Spectrum Strategy
• National Spectrum Strategy Implementation Plan
• National Quantum Strategy / National Strategic Overview for Quantum Information Science

Follow digital submarine cables

Zambia’s digital profile is shaped by fast-growing networks, early next-gen rollouts, and strong payment rails for a landlocked economy. On connectivity, the country was an early Sub-Saharan adopter of 5G (MTN launched commercially in Nov 2022; Airtel followed in Jul 2023), while overall subscriptions kept climbing in 2024 (23.2 m mobile lines; 13.5 m internet subscriptions, both up year-on-year). Zambia augments east-coast subsea capacity (via SEACOM/EASSy) with west/south corridors (WACS/Equiano) carried over cross-border fibre, diversification that’s been expanding through new routes such as the SADC Highway link toward Livingstone. It also moved early among regional peers to license Starlink (service live since Oct 2023), improving reach for remote sites and back-up links.

In digital finance, Zambia is one of the region’s stronger examples of interoperable instant payments: the National Financial Switch (ZECHL) connects banks, mobile-money providers and other PSPs so users can move funds wallet to wallet and wallet to bank across providers, an architecture highlighted in AfricanNenda’s case study and in recent national announcements. On the cloud side, government-backed INFRATEL operates Tier III (Design)-certified data-centre capacity in Lusaka (with additional sites in Lusaka and Kitwe), giving the public sector and local businesses in-country hosting options uncommon among lower-middle-income peers. Together with steady subscription growth and maturing infrastructure diversity, these features place Zambia near the regional frontier on a few practical indicators, interoperable payments, early 5G readiness, LEO satellite licensing, and government-grade local hosting, without yet matching the continent’s top performers on overall usage levels or speeds.

Consult Zambia’s AI and digital strategies and regulations

Explore Zambia’s digital infrastructure