On 25 August 2022, Personal Data Protection Law No. 149 was published in the Official Gazette of Cuba. It will enter into force in February 2023.
The main purpose of the law is to guarantee the right of individuals to the protection of their personal data and to regulate the use and processing of data by public and private persons or entities.
By enacting the law, Cuba joins the list of countries with specific legislation on data protection.
The Personal Data Protection Law (“Law“) derives its foundation from (i) Article 40 (Human dignity), Article 48 (Personal and family privacy, the right to the image and voice, honor and personal identity), and Article 97 (the right of individuals to access their personal data, as well as the right to request its non-disclosure) of the Constitution of Cuba; and (ii) the impact on society of technological developments, especially in the digital environment.
The Law aims to: (i) guarantee the right to the protection of personal data; (ii) ensure due respect for personal and family privacy, and ensure protection of an individual’s image and voice, honor and personal identity; (iii) regulate the effective processing of personal data and the use of public information; and (iv) promote and foster a culture of data protection.
It must be noted that only individuals are considered as data subjects under the Law (unlike in Argentina, where legal entities are also considered as data subjects). Furthermore, the Law provides that as a general rule, the collection and processing of personal data requires consent from data subjects, which may be express or tacit (some exceptions apply, for example, with respect to the processing of sensitive data).
In all cases, data subjects must be informed of the following information: the lawful basis of processing; the manner by which data will be processed; the recipients of the data; the optional or compulsory nature of providing data; data retention; the consequences of providing inaccurate data, as well as the format by which data will be stored.
Key provisions of the Law include the processing of personal data of minors, the rights of data subjects (including the corresponding actions for the protection of personal data), and national and international transfers of data.
We will continue to monitor the practical effects of the Law as and when it takes effect.
Click here to access the Spanish version.
Guillermo Cervio is a partner in Baker McKenzie’s Buenos Aires office. With more than 25 years of experience, he has been consistently recognized as a foremost practitioner in his field. He served as the coordinator of the Information Technology & Communications Group from 2008 to 2016. Guillermo has authored books and articles on legal matters. He has been awarded for his book “Derecho de las Telecomunicaciones” by the National Academy of Law (Mención de honor, 1998) and Austral University (Premio tesina,1997) and for his paper filed in the IX National Congress on Corporate Law (Tucumán, 2004). He has been a professor in universities including the University of Buenos Aires, Austral University, Palermo University, Catholic University and CEMA. Guillermo has been awarded with Folsom fellowship granted by Center for American and International Law, Dallas, US in 2003.
Martín Roth is a partner in the M&A, Real Estate and TMT practice groups in Baker McKenzie’s Buenos Aires office. Martín has more than 13 years of extensive transactional domestic and international experience, focusing on the real estate and TMT industries. Prior to joining Baker McKenzie, he worked as a trainee lawyer on the Corporate, Banking/Finance and Litigation areas with a local law firm in Argentina. From 2007 to 2012, he worked in Baker McKenzie’s Buenos Aires office. From 2013 to 2016, he worked as an independent attorney at another law firm. Martín rejoined the Buenos Aires office in 2016 and was named partner in July 2019.
Valentina Biondi Grane is an Associate in Baker McKenzie, Buenos Aires office.
Sofía Requejado is an Associate in Baker McKenzie, Buenos Aires office.
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