On May 22, 2024, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technologies (“MinTic”) filed a bill that seeks to develop a data infrastructure to increase the availability, use, and exchange of data, improve decision-making and consolidate a data culture in the country (“Bill”).

Note that this Bill applies only to the entities that make up the public administration and to individuals who perform public administrative functions, including the legislative and judicial branches, control bodies, autonomous and independent bodies, and any other State agencies.

Specifically, the Bill introduces the following dispositions:

• Establishes that public entities will have the obligation to implement the recommendations, guidelines, and sectorial strategies issued by the National Data Committee.
• Establishes that public entities using emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, shall ensure compliance with the Digital Government Policy issued by the MinTic.
• Establishes that the interoperability of the data infrastructure must be guaranteed among the public entities that use the information systems to be enabled by the State.
• Establishes that the Ministries, Departments, and Superintendencies, together with their attached entities, must prepare and submit to the National Data Coordinator the structure of their master data and the reference, following the guidelines of the MinTic.
• Imposes on public entities the obligation to inform the Administrator of the Basic Data Manager whether the data it handles is protected by legal reserve.
• Establishes that if the data is protected by legal reserve, the data must be anonymized and/or pseudonymized.
• Establishes that anonymized data may not be used for commercial purposes, taxation, judicial investigation, or any other purpose other than the authorized one.
• Establishes that the National Government shall have nine (9) months to issue the Disqualifications and Incompatibilities Regime applicable to the members of the National Data Committee. This Regime must include, at least, the prohibition of having held positions or consulted in the private sector during the previous two (2) years.
• Imposes on public entities the obligation to designate an official to fulfill the role of data administrator within two (2) months following the issuance of this Project.

Finally, this Project establishes that the MinTic, in coordination with the Country Data Manager Administrator, will have six (6) months after issuance of this Project to prepare the data catalog, issue the master data governance model, and share the reference to be implemented in the basic data manager. 

For any additional information on the new provisions included in this bill and how they may affect current personal data protection practices, please contact us.