A/HRC/49/55
I. Introduction
1.
The principles of privacy and personal data protection have developed as a result of
growing concerns around advances in information and communication technologies, which
provide ever greater possibilities for information management and manipulation but also
have the potential to infringe on individuals’ lives, freedom and dignity.
2.
The evolution of technology has reshaped the world, providing new forms of
communication, socialization, education and work and giving rise to new approaches to
health care, culture and social development. The principles of privacy and personal data
protection, which are fundamental individual rights, are now of greater importance for human
dignity than ever before, in that they serve to promote autonomy, decision-making,
innovation and, ultimately, the development of the human personality.
3.
Artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, information processing speed, virtual
reality, augmented reality, biotechnology, robotics, the Internet of things, mass video
surveillance and 3D printing are disruptive phenomena that have brought with them profound
changes to the way we organize our daily lives.
4.
The pandemic has not only accelerated digitization processes; it has also led to
technology being ever more closely integrated into our daily lives. While this has great
benefits, it also brings serious risks, especially for information security, privacy and personal
data processing.
5.
In this context, it is important to bear in mind that the individual is at the centre of any
regulatory system; that, in democratic societies, the recognition and protection of
fundamental human rights is essential for the development of the human personality; and that
the purpose of recognizing and protecting fundamental human rights should always be to
enrich lives, with the human person being always considered central to the rule of law.
6.
Protecting the privacy and personal data of individuals is also about protecting their
dignity, equality and freedom and working towards a more egalitarian society in which
privacy is not the privilege of a few.
7.
The right to privacy and, in particular, the right to personal data protection, are a form
of safeguard that gives individuals the means to assert their autonomy and dignity on an equal
footing. These rights, like all rights, require effective judicial guarantees. Moreover, insofar
as they ensure that people are able to communicate and share with others, they are key factors
in the construction and effective functioning of any democratic society.
8.
Regulation in this area entails establishing safeguards that guarantee for all persons
the exercise of fundamental rights and the means to ensure that their privacy, dignity, equality
and freedom are protected. The right to personal data protection, in particular, is essential for
the development of personality in democratic societies and for the construction and
functioning of these societies. The purpose of personal data protection is to allow for a
controlled flow of personal data while also fostering trade.
II. The Ibero-American system: historical background
9.
Most Ibero-American countries already had data protection systems in place at the
start of the twenty-first century. However, these systems were generally very different from
those in place today insofar as they did not expressly recognize the right to personal data
protection – although some constitutions, including the Colombian Constitution of 1991, as
amended in 2003, did already contain privacy-related provisions.
10.
In Uruguay, which has followed the general trend apparent throughout Ibero-America,
the fundamental human right to personal data protection has always been a legally prescribed
right, but there have been some substantive changes, which will be described in the following
sections.
11.
In line with a tendency replicated across Ibero-America, the Constitution of Uruguay
establishes a system of privacy and personal data protection insofar as it recognizes the nonexhaustive nature of constitutional rights and thus admits that the enumeration of rights,
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