Uruguay Close To Receiving EU Adequacy Recognition?

The EU Data Protection Directive (95/46/EC) provides that the transfer of personal data from EU member States to non-Member States may in principle only take place if the laws in the recipient country ensure an adequate level of data protection.  The European Commission can decide that a non-EU country has adequate protection if the country’s legal framework covers all the basic data protection principles (set out in the Directive) and if there is an enforcement system in place ensuring the effectiveness of that framework. To date the European Commission has issued adequacy decisions in favor of Argentina, Canada, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Switzerland, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Safe Harbor Principles, and the transfer of air travelers’ data to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Uruguay filed a request for EU adequacy recognition in October 2008, and the preliminary reactions so far appear to be favorable. However, the recognition process is unlikely to be completed before the end of the year. An adequacy decision from the European Commission will allow personal data to flow freely from the EU to Uruguay, without the need for additional data privacy safeguards. EU recognition will help Uruguay boost its outsourcing industry and attract more EU-based companies looking for providers of administrative, financial and other data processing services in Latin America.

Authored by the HL Chronicle of Data Protection Team