Surveillance and Vulnerability Just a Few “Clicks” Away: How Exposed can our information and Personal Data Be?

Abstract

Chile advances rapidly in the incorporation and use of information technologies (ICTs): according to figures from the United Nations E-Government Survey, Chile ranks third in Latin America, after Argentina and Uruguay. This development is recognized and promoted by the Government, as in the words of President Michelle Bachelet (2017): "Seven out of ten compatriots, of all ages, today not only seek information on social networks, but perform numerous banking procedures, make online purchases, obtain certificates, birth certificates, pay their taxes, schedule medical hours or manage some of the thousands of procedures registered in ChileAtiende". But in front of all these procedures and all these processes, who protects the personal data of those people? Faced with this question, Law 19.628 "on protection of private life", promulgated in 1999, is presented, and currently is insufficient, because the protection granted to both personal data and privacy is not capable of opposing to the sophisticated existing mechanisms, which often determine and expose personal information. In this sense, and under a system where the market model based on the processing of personal data is allowed, the law, since its inception, has sought to regulate this market, rather than protecting the citizen, leading to many shortcomings, such as ambiguities, low sanctions, lack of control of data banks, among other problems. For these reasons, this article will analyze relevant cases in Chile of the last decade, related to the exposure of personal data and the possible negative consequences that this could bring to the owners of such information, so that finally presents some recommendations to avoid these situations in the future.