AGREEMENT WITH THE US: WHAT IS THE TRANSFER OF ARGENTINIANS' PERSONAL DATA?
The bilateral agreement with the United States includes enabling the transfer of personal data without restrictions, which would allow companies to operate more freely but raises risks about how citizens' data will be protected.
Experts warn of a lack of detail and point out that the US does not have a federal privacy law, which creates regulatory asymmetries and doubts about digital sovereignty.
Testimonials:
Lucas Barreiro (lawyer specializing in personal data protection)
"Our Personal Data Protection Law (25,326) is based on a fairly simple rule: as a general principle, personal data cannot be transferred to countries that do not offer an adequate level of protection."
"Countries that do have this 'adequate status' can receive data from Argentina without special restrictions, because it is understood that their level of protection is equivalent to ours. Adequacy decisions are usually made by each country's data protection authority; in our case, the Agency for Access to Public Information. However, when a country is not considered 'adequate', the law requires additional safeguards for the transfer to be lawful."
"If an Argentine company wants to transfer personal data to another company based, for example, in Texas, then it has to implement additional safeguards or verify whether the operation falls under any of the exceptions provided for in the law."
"Once that adequacy decision takes effect, the scenario changes. Controllers established in the United States will no longer be required to provide additional safeguards to receive personal data from Argentina. This will remove a regulatory barrier that makes it easier for companies to transfer personal data anywhere in the United States, simplifying contracting and promoting commercial traffic."
"Added to this is another uncomfortable element: the United States maintains very intrusive surveillance rules. It is true that during the Biden administration some limits and control mechanisms were introduced, but we cannot in any way say that it is a privacy paradise."
