El Salvador approves the Personal Data Protection Law

By Eproint

In April 22, 2021, the Congress of El Salvador approved the Personal Data Protection Law, to pave the way for a technological era that places the country at development levels of other countries in the region.

The law establishes guarantees for citizens about the whereabouts and use of their personal data, with clear sanctions and infractions for those institutions and companies that infringe regulations and are unable to protect personal data.

The law was approved with two other related laws regarding Orange Economy and Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

The first one looks to bring together sectors of the economy whose main purpose is the production, promotion and marketing of goods, services and activities that have cultural, artistic or patrimonial content. Known also as Creative Economy, the Orange Economy is formed by visual arts, art in movement, photography, performing arts and shows, music, tourism and ecotourism, handicrafts and traditional products, gastronomy, historical centers and archaeological sites, cultural expressions and traditions, education in the arts, publishing industry, literature, radio and the audiovisual industry. 

Regarding the ICTs law, it authorizes the creation of the National Digital Authority, an institution of public law with legal personality and administrative and budgetary autonomy. The new institution will centralize all competences of digital matters in order to provide legal certainty in the use of information and communication technologies, applying regulations contained in international treaties in force in El Salvador and promoting universal access to the Internet, protection of personal data, electronic commerce, electronic signature and cybersecurity.