ECUADOR

On March 3, the International Relations Committee of the National Assembly began the drafting of the report for the second debate of the Executive-backed bill on personal data protection. The regulation seeks to protect the rights of citizens regarding the processing of their personal, economic and social data. The Committee received several assembly members in order to incorporate observations to the regulation. The Committee will continue the study of the initiative in the short term. 

During the meeting, legislator Mercedes Cuesta (Independent) suggested the body incorporate an article on the duty of confidentiality, since the determination of confidentiality in the handling of personal data requires a specific wording complementary to professional secrecy. On the other hand, Assemblywoman Silvia Salgado (Partido Social Cristiano) proposed that all data requiring international protection should be considered sensitive. She also expressed that the data of people who comply with administrative or legal sanctions should be treated from the perspective of the right to be forgotten.

Regarding this, lawmaker Cesar Rohon (Partido Social Cristiano) explained that it is not a matter of “deleting information”, since a legal and judicial process is necessary. However, Rohon remarked that citizens have the right to request the suspension of certain data considered not relevant, in order to avoid the manipulation of information.