Law 1581 of 2012 Compliance

Law 1581 of 2012 is Colombia's general personal-data protection law. It establishes rules governing the processing of personal data and provides individuals with rights over their personal information.

Law 1581 generally requires prior, express, and informed authorization for the processing of personal data, subject to circumstances and exceptions established by law. Sensitive personal data is subject to additional requirements.

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) is Colombia's data protection authority responsible for supervising compliance with Law 1581 and related personal-data protection requirements.

Individuals have rights including the ability to know, update, and rectify their personal data. The law also establishes mechanisms for exercising and protecting other applicable data-subject rights.

Sensitive data refers to information that can affect an individual's privacy or whose misuse could result in discrimination. The law provides additional protections for sensitive categories of personal information.

It can apply to organizations outside Colombia when the relevant personal-data processing is subject to Colombian law under the applicable legal framework.

The Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC) is Colombia's authority responsible for overseeing the protection of personal data and enforcing the applicable data-protection framework.