Personal data is any information related to you, such as your name, telephone number, address, photograph, or fingerprints, as well as any other data that can identify you. You are the owner of your personal data and only you decide how, when, to whom and for what purpose you give your personal information. Except for the exceptions established by law, it is very important that you take care of this data for security reasons and because it is your right, your data must be protected against misuse such as identity theft, improper or illicit transmissions or unauthorized access.

With the new Federal Law on Personal Data Protection, your right will be protected

• This new legislation places people at the centre of State protection.
• Today, Mexicans have legislation that protects personal information that may be found in the databases of any individual or company, such as insurance companies, banks, department stores, telephone companies, hospitals, laboratories, and universities.
• This legislation contains a series of clear rules that respect the privacy, dignity and information of individuals, derived from principles internationally observed by other countries around the world.
• The Law regulates the manner and conditions under which companies must use your personal data.

There is data that is considered sensitive and therefore requires greater protection.

• For example: racial or ethnic origin, health status, genetic information, religious, philosophical and moral beliefs, trade union membership, political opinions and sexual preferences.

What should we do? There are three different visions:

• As holders of personal data , we must demand that those responsible for processing our personal data send us our privacy notice before July of this year so that we can read it thoroughly. We have the right to have anything that is not clear to us explained in detail.
• As employees of a company responsible for personal data protection , it is necessary to be aware of our responsibility to protect my employer’s data, since failure to do so could result in a person being sentenced to up to 10 years in prison (Articles 67, 68 and 69). On the other hand, it is imperative to require our employer to inform us of the processing of our personal data (privacy notice) as soon as possible.
• Companies responsible for data protection should take into account that we are less than three months away from all those required by law to deliver their privacy notices to the owners and appoint the data protection officer. Most of the responsible parties have not sent, published or presented their privacy notices. In general, there is a lack of knowledge in this regard; in some cases they do not know that they have to do it, in others they are not aware of what personal data they have on the owners (their clients) and, in the worst case scenario, they believe that their legal departments can do it in a few weeks before the deadline (July 5, 2011).

You can read and download the personal data protection law:
➡ Federal Law on Personal Data Protection

Source: UNAM , IFAI