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What You Need to Know about Data Protection in Latin America
The data protection landscape in Latin America is characterized by significant regulatory complexity that requires proper treatment and in-depth study, application, supplementation, and integration of legal rules, especially for companies operating in multiple jurisdictions (a common scenario in an increasingly digital economy).
The practice and application of law in Latin America demands an analysis and comprehension of the region’s economic, political, social, and cultural elements. In Latin America, the approach to personal data protection laws and regulations is not uniform, as each country implements its own rules without regional harmonization or standardization. Countries such as Argentina and Chile have longstanding data protection laws, whereas others have more recently enacted legislation. Some of these newer laws, including Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD), draw inspiration from the GDPR model, once more reflecting its influence on global data protection frameworks.
The complex network of different laws and regulations across Latin American countries increases the challenges for lawyers and Data Protection Officers of multinational corporations with regional operations. These variations also raise the transaction costs for international businesses, as significant transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, and global joint ventures, must rely upon different criteria for managing personal data, including criteria for international transfers of personal data.
Aware of this scenario, Lefosse, along with law offices in Latin America — Marval O’Farrell Mairal, Aguilar Castillo Love, Barros & Errázuriz, Brigard Urrutia, Perez Bustamante & Ponce, Galicia Abogados, and Ferrere, Rodrigo Elias & Medrano Abogados —, initiated the commendable project of creating an informative guide titled ‘What You Need to Know About Data Protection in Latin America?’. This valuable and thorough guide provides an overview of the Personal Data Protection laws in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
In this guide, you will find a series of questions and answers pertaining to the data protection legislation of each country. This includes aspects such as territorial and material scope, the definition of personal data and its categories, references to regulatory authorities, and the obligations and requirements for compliance (principles, legal bases for processing, database registration, data processing agreements, confidentiality, and information security, among other topics).
Get to know these subjects about Data Protection in Latin America
- Legislation: Local laws applicable to data protection
- Jurisdiction: Territorial applicability
- Scope: Information protected under data protection legislation
- Definition of sensitive or special category data
- Supervisory Authority
- Obligations and requirements for compliance
- Data Protection Officer (DPO)
- Data subjects’ rights
- Security Requirements
- Data Breach Notification
- International Data Transfers
- Penalties
With this information, it will be possible to gain an initial understanding of the adjustments necessary to operate within each jurisdiction and/or to negotiate contracts with parties established in any of the countries under review. Read the whole edition.
