Data protection in Mercosur: current situation, perspectives and project

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the "state of the art" of data protection in MERCOSUR and indicate the possibilities for a future draft Decision that harmonizes the region protection level. To achieve this objective, we will proceed to: (i) Indicate the relevance of the subject related to data protection, (ii) Mention the main characteristics of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (since it is the most advanced in the matter and because UE is, like MERCOSUR, an integration process, although in a more advanced level), (iii) Analyze the initiatives that were created from MERCOSUR to create a decision that regulates data protection in the block. To this end, the minutes of Sub-Working Group No. 13 will be analyzed, (iv) Carry out a brief comparative analysis of the various levels of protection existing among the 4 MERCOSUR States parties (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay), (vi) Indicate the importance of regulation at the regional level (equal degree of protection for the member States of MERCOSUR). Based on these points, it is concluded that, given the importance of the topic related to data protection, a new MERCOSUR regulations draft is necessary and, in this sense, the present paper gives some proposals that could be incorporated into this eventual project. The methodology used in this work is essentially exploratory and qualitative. However, it also uses aspects of the descriptive methodology, for which an analysis of previous works that addressed the issue is made, as well as an analysis of regulations related to the subject.