• Fecha: 12 Jul 2011

The study, "Personal Data Protection in the Public Sector", published this week, has already had its first impact. Television channels and print media have given coverage to its release and have taken it as a point of measure for Chile’s contingency, especially in light of everything related to the La Polar case.

It was El Mercurio first, then came TVN, and finally CNN Chile. Three of the principle media outlets of the country have echoed the recent study by Fundación Pro Acceso, "Protection of Personal Data in the Public Sector" , a document that accounts for the major flaws in the system regarding the management, control, and use of personal information of millions of Chileans by public entities.

Last Sunday, July 10th, El Mercurio reported the news of the launch of the study, drawing a direct relationship with one of the most alarming cases relating to personal data in recent years.

"The alleged delivery of the Fonasa database to the La Polar company would not the only instance of exchange that occurs between public and private entities. According to a study by the Fundación Pro Acceso, which measured the treatment that the state gives to the private information of citizens and if these institutions comply with Law 19.628 concerning the protection of such information," says the newspaper (see note) .

On Monday, July 11th, TVN took the baton. Monica Pérez and Mauricio Bustamante interviewed the president of Pro Accesso, Federico Allende, who explained the scope of the mismanagement of databases of personal data, making it clear that data crossing, as what happened between La Polar and Fonasa, is "an illegal practice and goes against the privacy of individuals."

The following day, CNN Chile gave a new turn to the topic. Moises Sanchez, director of the foundation, was filmed in CNN’s studio, where Carola Fuentes interviewed him.

There, Sanchez spoke of the existence of a projected bill that seeks to regulate the protection of personal data, but has been stalled in Congress since 2008. "At the end of the day, the topics that concern the public go through a balancing test with private interests," the lawyer said.