CHILE Law and Practice Contributed by: Claudio Magliona, Bárbara Reyes and Diego Lisoni, Magliona Abogados
if the person responsible for the personal data regis - try or bank fails to respond to a request for access, rectification, suppression or blocking of personal data within two business days or refuses a request on grounds other than the security of the nation or the national interest. On the other hand, the New Law moves from a judicial framework to an administrative one, where the body in charge of overseeing this new regulatory standard will be the Personal Data Protection Agency, an admin - istrative body of a technical nature, with regulatory, interpretive, supervisory and sanctioning powers. With regard to penalties, in the event of non-compli - ance with the Law, the Agency may: • issue warnings or impose fines of up to 5,000 UTM for minor infringements; up to 10,000 UTM for seri - ous infringements; and up to 20,000 UTM (or up to approximately USD1.5 million) for very serious infringements; • triple the fines in the event of repeat offences; • in the case of large companies, the fine may reach the higher of the tripled fine or up to 2% or 4% of annual income in the event of repeat serious or very serious offences, respectively; • suspend data processing for up to 30 days as an additional penalty in the case of fines imposed for repeated very serious infringements within 24 months; or • administer the National Registry of Penalties and Compliance (whose entries will be publicly acces - sible for five years), which will record the persons responsible for the penalties and the respective penalties. 1.9 Enforcement Trends Over the past 24 months, Chile has witnessed a dis - cernible rise in litigation related to privacy and per - sonal data protection, driven largely by public debate surrounding the collection and use of biometric data. The high-profile case of WorldCoin, an entity scan - ning individuals’ irises in exchange for cryptocurrency, exemplifies this trend and has triggered actions from both private citizens and public bodies. Additionally, there is a growing tension between distinct public interests, as seen in disputes where data privacy prin -
ciples, such as proportionality, are invoked to oppose information requests from other state authorities like the National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE).
2. Privacy Litigation 2.1 Privacy Litigation Overview Claimant Types and Causes of Action
Claimants generally fall into two categories: individ - ual data subjects exercising constitutional protection actions or habeas data remedies, and public bodies acting within their competencies. • Individual Claimants: Individuals typically file pro - tection actions ( recursos de protección ) alleging the violation of their constitutional right to privacy (Article 19 No 4 of the Constitution). Recent causes of action focus on the lack of informed consent for biometric scanning and the difficulty in exercising the right to suppression (deletion) of data. • Institutional Claimants: The National Consumer Service (SERNAC) has taken a proactive role, filing complaints against companies for questionable data collection practices and insufficient informa - tion provided to consumers. Conversely, universi - ties have acted as claimants/defendants in resist - ing data transfer requests from the FNE, arguing that such transfers violate the principle of propor - tionality. • The National Consumer Service (SERNAC) has initiated legal action against WorldCoin, a company that scans people’s irises in exchange for crypto - currency, for alleged violations of the Consumer Law and the Privacy Law. • SERNAC argues that WorldCoin has failed to adequately inform consumers about the purposes for which their biometric data will be used and that the company has not implemented appropriate mechanisms to protect consumer privacy. • SERNAC has also expressed concern that World - Coin has scanned the irises of minors without the consent of their parents or guardians. 2.2 Recent Case Law SERNAC v WorldCoin
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