World Data Protection Laws

Various countries have enacted personal data protection laws and each country has sought to adapt, to its own cultural, economic and political conditions, the bases of one of the two existing personal data protection models. Below are some relevant cases on the personal data protection laws of different countries, organizations and regions of the world:

(Click on the country to be redirected to the law of each country)

1. United Nations Organization (UN). In 1948, it adopts the document known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in which article 12 states that people have the right to the protection of the law of their personal data.

2. Germany. In 1970 the first data protection law (Datenschutz) was passed. In 1977, the German Federal Parliament passes the Bundesdatenschutzgesetz Federal Law. These laws prevent the transmission of any personal data without the authorization of the person concerned.

3. Sweden. In 1973, what was one of the first data protection laws in the world was published.

4. United States of America. Data protection is based on the Privacy Act of 1974.

5. European Union. The first international data protection agreement was signed in 1981 by Germany, France, Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg. It is known as “Convention 108” or “Strasbourg Convention”. In the 90's, a common standard was established which was called Directive 95/46/EC. The directive refers to the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and the free circulation of these data.

6. Spain. Organic Law 15 of 1999 establishes the Protection of Personal Data. This law has been important for Latin America because it has been used as a firm benchmark for the European model.

7. Latin America. In Latin America, personal data protection laws arise as a necessity derived from the increased use of information technologies and the increase in associated vulnerabilities. For the most part, these laws resemble the European model: In Colombia Law 1581 (2012) Argentina 25,326 (2000), Chile (1999), Panama (2002), Brazil (1997), Paraguay (2000), Uruguay (2008) .

8. Russia. In 2006, a comprehensive personal data protection law was passed.

9. Peru. Law 29,733 of July 2, 2011 is the most recent personal data protection law in the world.

10. Mexico. The Federal Law on the Protection of Personal Data Held by Private Parties was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation on July 5, 2010, entered into force one day later and is effective as of January 2012.