Cybersecurity Policy Report, Privacy Law Updates Contemplated in Colombia, (Aug 19, 2025)
By Tony Foley
The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC), Colombia’s data protection authority, has announced an initiative by the country’s national government to reform Law 1581 of 2012, the country’s data protection law.
The initiative was announced at the 12th International Congress on Personal Data by Cielo Rusinque, superintendent of Industry and Commerce, and Yesenia Olaya, minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation, on Aug. 12, according to an SIC news release. To develop the initiative, SIC held seven workshops with experts and higher education institutions to generate proposals on the content of the regulatory agenda and reform of the current regime. The proposal is scheduled to be presented to the Colombian Congress in coming days.
SIC said that, since the enactment of Law 1581, personal data processing activities had undergone substantial changes, thanks to the transformation of the global economy and accelerated technological development. Accordingly, the initiative is designed to address the following items:
Modification of the scope of the law’s application, clearly establishing that it applies to processing taking place in Colombian territory, regardless of the location of the person processing the data;
Inclusion of definitions specific to the digital economy, like automated processing and profiling;
Amendments to the existing absolute prohibition on the processing of the personal data of minors, allowing the processing of such information of persons over age 14, subject to specified conditions;
Expansion of the legal bases for processing, including the principle of legality and compliance with contracts; and
Strengthening oversight functions by improving interactions between the SIC and the Attorney General’s Office.
"[O]ur goal is none other than the construction of a data regime that can tame markets, avoid the dangers of cognitive monopolies, ensure that the principles of the social rule of law extend to the digital world, and advance the deepening of the demands inherent to a democratic organization of society,” said Superintendent Rusinque. Minister Olaya added that "there is a clear need to modernize our decrees and laws to adapt them to emerging technology economies, following high international standards, and placing Colombia at the regional forefront in data protection."
News: InternationalLegislation DataPrivacy DataSecurity