Technology & Privacy Laws Around The World - Episode 6: Latin America

Latin America is an incredibly diverse region. Yet, from the shores of Baja California to the windswept plains of Argentinian Patagonia, it arguably shares more cultural common ground than Europe does as a whole. Despite this, it lacks a unified market zone like the European Union. Where does the region stand on tech and privacy legislation and policy? Are the debates unfolding across Latin America shaped by shared challenges? Do they reflect distinct, local realities? As emerging markets grappling with inequality and brimming with potential, these countries reveal both striking parallelisms and critical differences.

In this episode, host Mauricio Figueroa is joined by three experts to explore three key jurisdictions at the heart of Latin America's digital transformation: Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico.

Mauricio Figueroa is a research scholar that teaches and writes on Law and Digital Technologies, and has international experience in legal research, teaching, and public policy. He is the host of the SCL podcast "Privacy and Technology Laws Around the World".

Beatriz Botero is an Assistant Professor of Law at Sciences Po Law School and a Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. She holds an LLM and a doctorate from Harvard Law School where she defended a dissertation on the governance of smart cities, urban platforms and the data they collect. She holds an LLB from Universidad de los Andes, in Bogotá, Colombia.

Barbara Lazarotto is a Ph.D. researcher at Law, Science, Technology and Society (LSTS) Research Group at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and an Executive Member of the Brussels Privacy Hub, where she conducts research on various topics regarding Data Protection Law, Digital Law, and Fundamental Rights. She is a Lecturer at Sciences Po Paris, where she teaches Digital legal matters and perspectives.

Luz Helena Orozco y Villa is a Dphil (PhD) Candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, a non-resident Scholar at the Baker Institute of Public Policy, Rice University, and a Research Assistant at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights. Prior to joining Oxford, she served as a career clerk for the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice and worked as a research advisor at the Gender Equality Program of the Federal Judicial Council.  Luz holds an LL.M. from Columbia Law School, where she studied as a Fulbright grantee and Charles B. Bretzfelder Constitutional Law scholar, and an LL.B. from ITAM, Mexico. Her current research lies at the intersection of constitutional law, regulation, and emerging technologies.