Agency of Access to Public Information Publishes 2023 Annual Report

The Federal Council for Transparency (CFT) was created in 2023, following the Access to Public Information Law 27,275, to consolidate interjurisdictional cooperation and reach agreements regarding transparency policies, mainly referred to access to information and data protection. The CFT’s achievements include the approval of the 2024 Federal Training Plan for Transparency. This Plan seeks to guarantee:

1. access to information,
2. citizen participation,
3. data protection,
4. transparency.

In addition, the CFT and the Agency of Access to Public Information (AAIP) aim to facilitate the implementation of privacy standards in the public sphere through plans for data protection. To this end, they presented the Guidelines for the Formulation of a Personal Data Protection Plan for the Public Sector.

The Annual Report also highlights that, in the area of personal data protection, a bill was presented to Congress to update the current Data Protection Law 25,326 and Convention 108+ was ratified.

Regarding the Bill, the AAIP highlighted:

1. the participative debate with various national and international sectors,
2. the instance of public consultation,
3. the presentation of the Bill to Congress in June 2023,
4. the process of debate and dissemination of the Bill throughout Argentina during ALACRED’s 2023 General Assembly.

The ratification of Convention 108+ took place within the framework of the Privacy Symposium for the Council of Europe. Thus, Argentina became the second Latin American country—following Uruguay—to ratify it.

Further, the Report highlights the formalization of the Program for Transparency and Protection of Personal Data in the use of Artificial Intelligence, which aims to expand the spaces of dialogue for the protection of personal data and the use of artificial intelligence.

On the other hand, the European Commission ratified Argentina's status as a country with adequate legislation for the international transfer of personal data. Further, the AAIP approved the model contractual clauses for international data transfer and the Implementation Guide of the Ibero-American Data Protection Network.

The Annual Report also highlighted the number of administrative files processed in 2023:

• • 9600 complaints and assistance initiated in relation to the Data Protection Law.
  • 887 judicial orders processed at the Federal Directorate for the Protection of Personal Data.
  • Over 40,000 complaints entered the Federal Do Not Call Registry.
  • Over 16,000 documents were added to the Registry of Questioned Identity Documents after implementing a new portal.

Also, the AAIP participated in different international meetings, including:

• • The 45^th Annual Meeting of the Global Privacy Assembly where the Strategic Plan 2023-2025 was presented, and during which a joint statement was issued, addressing the global growth in the use of techniques known as data scraping.
  • The 45^th meeting of the Advisory Committee of the Council of Europe Convention 108 for the Protection of Personal Data.
• The 14^th International Conference of Information Commissioners. 

Other achievements include:

• • Argentina being elected host country for the XXIV Meeting of the Ibero-American Transparency and Access to Information Network.
  • The incorporation of the AAIP as a governmental partner of the Alliance for Algorithmic Transparency. 
  • The creation of the Module on Personal Data Protection in Anti-Corruption Office’s Registry of Integrity and Transparency for Companies and Entities.

Finally, the AAIP mentioned in the Report its participation in opening a dialogue with the government of the United States of America to start strengthening international cooperation between the two countries.