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Data protection law in Uruguay

Uruguay has a general data protection law, and the European Commission has recognised it as adequate for data transfers from the EU.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Read this first. This guide gives the name, year and enforcer of each country's general data protection law from our own knowledge, with the UNCTAD tracker and the European Commission's adequacy list as references. It does not state fines, deadlines or how a law is applied in practice. Laws are being passed and reformed quickly, so check the authority's website before you rely on it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Is there a data protection law?

General law

The law: Law No. 18,331 on Personal Data Protection (2008).

The authority that enforces it

Regulatory and Control Unit for Personal Data (URCDP)

Find authorities worldwide through the Global Privacy Assembly.

Relationship to the EU's GDPR

EU adequacy decision

Judged adequate by the European Commission.

Good to know

  • A law on paper is not always a law in practice. Some countries have passed a law but have not yet set up the authority that enforces it, or are still bringing it into force in stages. We say so where we know.
  • The GDPR can reach you outside the EU. The GDPR applies to organisations anywhere in the world that offer goods or services to people in the EU, or monitor their behaviour, even without a presence there.
  • Moving data across borders. Many laws limit sending personal data abroad. Typical safeguards are an adequacy decision, standard contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, or the person's explicit consent.
  • Your rights. Most general laws let you ask what data an organisation holds about you, ask for corrections and, in many places, deletion. Find the country's authority below to file a complaint.
  • Laws are being updated. Many countries have passed or reformed a law in the last five years, and more are in the pipeline. Check the authority's website for the current text.

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More about Uruguay

Sources

For the exact text and the current position, use Uruguay’s own legislation and its data protection authority.

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s data protection guide is an educational overview. It is not legal advice and does not replace the country’s own law or a lawyer there. Report a mistake.