On 7 September 2011, the Executive in Costa Rica published Law
No. 8968 on the Protection of the Person concerning the Treatment
of Personal Data (the "Act"). Along with Uruguay, Mexico,
Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, Costa Rica is now the seventh
country in Central and Latin America with data protection laws.
In the same vein as the EU Directive on data protection, the
Costa Rican Act has as its objective the protection of fundamental
rights, and in particular the right of the individual to be able to
exert control over data concerning his private life (what they
refer to as 'informed self-determination'). It also serves
to protect other rights, such as the right to liberty and equality
with respect to the treatment of personal data. Similarly, there is
the requirement for unambiguous consent for personal data to be
used for determined purposes. Data subjects have the right to
access their personal data (which incorporates the constitutional
principle of
