Abstract

Privacy is still a right protected by international conventions and some domestic laws. However, it seems that data protection is not efficient in the Internet. Personal data presently has an increasing economic value, due to the spreading new and affordable technology and profuse use of social media, the amount of personal information available and generated is significantly growing each moment. Nonetheless, this easy-access technology provides several challenges for the Law to preserve data protection. In the Internet, it is difficult to enforce a practical legal framework, especially to enforce the law and cross-border flow of personal information. The discussion will be focused on a description of data protection regimes in Australia and Chile, both legal frameworks, and a critical review, particularly in the online environment. Then we will provide an overview of the international approach for cross-border personal data flow, the efforts for harmonisation and addressing the necessity of data protection authorities with appropriate faculties. Lastly, we will conclude that both Australian and Chilean systems are not entirely efficient in the Internet environment, and address some proposals to improve these legal regimes.

Keywords

Personal information Data protection Privacy Data privacy Data processing Internet