Ley N° 18.331, biometric data

Ley N° 18.331, arts. 4 (literal Ñ) y 18-BIS, según Ley N° 19.924, de 18 de diciembre de 2020 (datos biométricos)

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In force.

A biometric privacy rule binding public and private bodies.

As of 19 September 2026.

What it requires

Before processing biometric data, such as fingerprint data or facial or voice recognition used to identify a person, carry out a data protection impact assessment.
Process biometric data only within a lawful basis under article 9 of Ley N° 18.331 (typically the data subject's free, prior, express, and informed consent), since biometric data is not exempt from that consent framework.

What it reaches

Obligation class

Biometric, DPIA, Consent

What this law does

Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.

Article 4, literal Ñ, added by Ley N° 19.924 art. 86, defines biometric data as personal data obtained from a specific technical process relating to a natural person's physical, physiological, or behavioral characteristics that allow or confirm their unique identification, such as fingerprint data, image recognition, or voice recognition.

Article 18-BIS, added by Ley N° 19.924 art. 87, requires that any processing of biometric data first pass through a data protection impact assessment and fit within one of the lawful bases article 9 allows, a dedicated duty distinct from the sensitive-data list at article 4 literal E, which does not name biometric data.

When LexLint raises it

processes_biometrics
processes_voice
crawls_web

Read the law

Ley N 18.331 de 11 de agosto de 2008, texto consolidado, Direccion Nacional de Impresiones y Publicaciones Oficiales (IMPO)

Every line above is drawn from the primary source linked here, read on the date shown. This is a research summary, not legal advice.

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