Database

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URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce
Uruguay has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Online sales and transactions  |  Indicator UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Lack of adoption of UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures
Uruguay has not adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Technical standards applied to ICT goods and online services  |  Indicator Self-certification for product safety
Lack of self-certification of conformity
It is reported that self-declaration of conformity (SDoC) is not allowed for foreign companies for any radio transmitting devices, such as cellular exchanges, radio alarm devices, wireless remote controls, wireless microphones, cellular phones, cordless phones, radio communications transceiver equipment, wireless network cards, wifi/bluetooth transmitter devices, drone transceivers, among others. The approvals in Uruguay are regulated by the Regulatory Unit of Communications Service (URSEC). The approvals, once obtained, are valid for 15 years. Typically, approvals can be obtained in less than 10 weeks without in-country testing.
Coverage Radio transmitting devices

URUGUAY

Since October 2016, entry into force in December 2018
Since April 2021, entry into force in August 2023

Pillar Cross-border data policies  |  Indicator Participation in trade agreements committing to open cross-border data flows
Chile-Uruguay Free Trade Agreement (Acuerdo de Libre Comercio entre la República de Chile y la República Oriental del Uruguay)

Mercosur Agreement on Electronic Commerce (Acuerdo sobre Comercio Electrónico del Mercosur)
Uruguay has joined two agreements with binding commitments to open transfers of data across borders. Art. 8.10 of the Chile-Uruguay Free Trade Agreement provides that each Party shall permit the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, including personal information, where this activity is for the conduct of the business of a person of a Party. In addition, Art. 8.11 states that a Party may not require a person of the other Party to use or locate computer facilities in the territory of that Party as a condition for doing business in that territory. Similar requirements are found in Arts. 7 and 8 of the Mercosur Agreement on Electronic Commerce, ratified by Uruguay in September 2022 and in force between Paraguay and Uruguay since August 2023.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

Since August 2008, last amended in October 2022

Pillar Domestic data policies  |  Indicator Framework for data protection
Law No. 18,331 - Personal Data Protection Law (Ley No. 18.331 - Ley de Protección de Datos Personales)
Uruguay has a data protection framework established in Law No. 18.331 - Personal Data Protection Law.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

Since October 2018
Since May 2020
Since February 2020

Pillar Domestic data policies  |  Indicator Requirement to perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) or have a data protection officer (DPO)
Law No. 19,670 - Approval of the Financial Statements and Balance Sheet of Budget Execution (Ley No. 19.670 - Aprobación de Rendición de Cuentas y Balance de Ejecución Presupuestal)

Resolution No. 32/20 - Executive Council of the Regulatory and Control Unit of Personal Data (Resolución 32/20 - Consejo Ejecutivo de la Unidad Reguladora y de Control de Datos Personales)

Decree 64/2020 (Decreto No. 64/020)
According to the Art. 40 of Law No 19,670, the appointment of a Data Protection Officer (DPO) is mandatory in the following cases: (i) public state or non-state entities, (ii) private or partially state-owned entities, (iii) private entities which process sensitive data as a core activity, and (iv) private entities which process large scales of data (Art. 10 of Decree 64/2020 establishes that large scales of data mean the data processing of more than 35,000 data subjects).
The appointment of a DPO must be submitted to the Regulatory Unit for the Control of Personal Data (URCDP) for approval. If the legal and technical requirements are not met, the Regulator is empowered to refuse or revoke (as the case may be) the submission/authorisation to the appointed DPO, as set forth in Resolution No. 32/20. The delegate is responsible for advising the organisations they represent on compliance with the rules set forth in Law No. 18,331 on Personal Data Protection. In addition, they serve as the main point of contact with the URCDP, among other functions.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

Since February 2020
Since August 2008, last amended in October 2022

Pillar Domestic data policies  |  Indicator Requirement to perform a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) or have a data protection officer (DPO)
Decree 64/2020 (Decreto No. 64/020)

Law No. 18,331 - Personal Data Protection Law (Ley No. 18.331 - Ley de Protección de Datos Personales)
According to Art. 6 of Decree 64/2020, prior to the start of processing, the controller and the processor shall, in certain circumstances, carry out an assessment of the impact on the protection of personal data (DPIA).
According to Art. 10, the controller and the processor shall assess the DPIA when the processing operations may:
- Use sensitive data as a core business.
- Project permanent or stable processing of the specially protected data referred to in Chapter IV of Law No. 18.331 of August 11, 2008, or data related to the commission of criminal, civil, or administrative offences.
- Involve an evaluation of personal aspects of the data subjects to create or use personal profiles, in particular by analysing or predicting aspects related to their work performance, economic situation, health, personal preferences or interests, behavioural reliability, financial solvency, and location.
- To process data of groups of persons in a situation of special vulnerability and, in particular, of minors or persons with disabilities.
- Processing of large volumes of personal data.
- Transfer of personal data to other States or international organisations for which there is no adequate level of protection.
- Others determined by the Regulatory and Control Unit of Personal Data.
Coverage Horizontal

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Indicator Safe harbour for intermediaries for copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place for copyright infringements
It is reported that a basic legal framework on intermediary liability for copyright infringement is absent in Uruguay's law and jurisprudence.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Indicator Safe harbour for intermediaries for any activity other than copyright infringement
Lack of intermediary liability framework in place beyond copyright infringements
It is reported that a basic legal framework on intermediary liability beyond copyright infringement is absent in Uruguay's law and jurisprudence.
Coverage Internet intermediaries

URUGUAY

Since October 2014, last amended in August 2021

Pillar Intermediary liability  |  Indicator User identity requirement
Decree No. 274/014 (Decreto No. 274/014 Reglamentación del Art. 75 de la Ley 19.149, Relativo a las Prestaciones de Empresas Operadoras de Servicios de Telefonía Móvil)
According to Arts. 1 and 2 of Decree No. 274/014, mobile service providers must maintain an up-to-date register of individuals or legal entities contracting prepaid or postpaid services. Additionally, individuals or legal entities wishing to contract for these services are required to provide the identification data specified in Art. 4, including the subscriber's name, legal identification document, and address.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Passive infrastructure sharing obligation
Lack of passive infrastructure sharing obligation
It is reported that passive sharing of infrastructure in the telecom market is not mandated, though it is practised in the mobile sector based on commercial agreements. In contrast, in the fixed sector, passive sharing is neither mandated nor practised.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

URUGUAY

Since July 1974

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Presence of shares owned by the government in telecom companies
Decree-Law No. 14235: Law Creating ANTEL (Decreto Ley No. 14235: Ley de Creación de ANTEL)
Pursuant to Art. 1 of Law 14,235, the National Telecommunications Administration of Uruguay (ANTEL) is a decentralised public service, and the company is fully state-owned.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Functional/accounting separation for operators with significant market power
Lack of mandatory functional separation for dominant network operators
Uruguay does not impose a requirement for functional separation on operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecommunications sector. However, since 2003, operators have been subject to an obligation of accounting separation. Art. 15 of the Telecommunications Licensing Regulation provides that, as part of their service-related obligations, licensees may be required to maintain separate accounts by service where the Regulatory Unit for Communications Services (Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones, URSEC) issues a general mandate for specific services or categories of licences. In addition, Art. 16 requires any licensee whose corporate purpose includes activities beyond the provision of telecommunications services to implement a system of accounting separation and cost accounting for those additional activities, in accordance with the guidelines and criteria periodically determined by URSEC.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Signature of the WTO Telecom Reference Paper
Lack of adoption of WTO Telecom Reference Paper
Uruguay has not appended the WTO Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

URUGUAY

N/A

Pillar Telecom infrastructure & competition  |  Indicator Presence of an independent telecom authority
Presence of an independent telecom authority
It is reported that the Communications Services Regulatory Unit (URSEC), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process. In accordance with national legislation (Law 17.296), the URSEC has been established as a decentralised and autonomous public entity.
Coverage Telecommunications sector

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