A much awaited update on our Data Protection Law is currently being discussed in Chilean Congress. The Government sponsored Bill seeks to raise our current Data Protection regime to a higher standard. Among its various provisions, we can mention the following:
- It creates a Data Protection Agency entrusted to monitor compliance with the law and impose fines of up to 350.000USD. In case of repeat offenses, fines can reach over 1.000.000USD.
- It regulates international data transfers, restricting the possibility of transferring personal data information to third countries which have a lower standard of protection.
- It specifies the type of consent needed to process personal data, changing the current standard of written express consent to "free, specific, unequivocal and informed" in relation to a specific purpose.
- It clarifies the type of consent needed to process personal information regarding children.
- It further regulates sensitive data, including subcategories, such as human biological profiles and biometric data.
- It explicitly incorporates in our law the principles set out by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, raising the standard of our Data Protection laws to the organization's common bar.
Although it is still early to determine if the Bill will be approved in its entirety, it will surely have implication on the advertising industry, especially targeted advertising which relies heavily on information gathered through digital sources.
The standard of care for those that collect and use data will rise significantly, as will the sanction for misuse. This, in addition to the creation of a Government Agency dedicated to monitor the compliance with the law, will surely compel the different actors in the advertising industry to review their current protocols of information collection, use and storage.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.