Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: In response to a changing global privacy law regime, and specifically the passage of the European Union Directive setting standards for the protection of personal data, Argentina has been at the forefront of Latin American legal efforts to increase privacy.Argentina's efforts began with the enactment of a constitutional provision that created the habeas data cause of action, allowing for injunctive relief for those seeking access, modification, or suppression of personal data.After an unsuccessful attempt, the Law for the Protection of Personal Data was finally ratified in 1998 and went into effect in 2000.The Law for the Protection of Personal Data provides the statutory framework for the habeas data cause of action and establishes specific rights of data owners and obligations of data users.The Law for the Protection of Personal Data also establishes a controlling administrative agency charged with its implementation and assuring the protection of personal data.The European Union has since determined that Argentina's personal data protection regime is "adequate "for international data transfers in accordance with its Directive.As a result of this unique approach of protecting personal data, Argentina is now setting a trend for other countries in Latin America and worldwide.Maxim Gakh is a candidate for a juris doctor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, class of 2007.The author has an A.B. with a major in political science from Washington University in St. Louis.a set of standards-which adhere to the EU Directive-to assure that personal data is being responsibly maintained.The stage for this new development is Latin America, and Argentina is in the lead.Since Argentina was originally scheduled to host the 2 8 th International Conference of Data Protection and Privacy Commissioners in Buenos Aries in 2006,1 and Argentina is the first country in Latin America, and one of only a handful worldwide, deemed to provide "adequate" personal data protection by the EU, its data protection regime is critical for understanding the current legal trends in privacy protection. II. HABEAS DATA: THE MIDDLE GROUND FOR ENSURING PRIVACY OR A REFORMULATION OF AN ESTABLISHED PARADIGM?Latin American countries have instituted legal mechanisms for the protection of data that substantively and procedurally differ from both those in the EU, the source of the privacy ideals, and from those in the United States, which continues to dominate the Western Hemisphere.Partially motivated by the privacy standards that the EU has established (complying with which is a prerequisite for a country's ability to exchange data with Union members), Argentina and several other Latin American countries have created a "new type of privacy protection" in the form of habeas data. 2 While habeas data laws vary among Latin American countries, this right to information generally creates a private cause of action to insure compliance with constitutionally protected rights of "privacy.. .information self-determination and freedom of information."3 Using this cause of action, individuals may seek relief in the form of destruction, correction, or an update of personal data.4 The roots of 1
Author: Maxim Gakh
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2339380636