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What it is

Rules to protect people's personal data

BOE step 7 of 7 · Passed

It is a government bill. Introduced by the Government. It was introduced on 30 July 1998. Introduced by: Gobierno.

Official title: Organic Government bill on the protection of personal data.

Follow this law

Source: Congreso de los Diputados, file 121/000135· updated 11 Nov

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

  1. The law protects fundamental rights and the privacy of individuals when their personal data is processed, in both the public and private sectors.
  2. Data may only be collected for specific, legitimate purposes, must be accurate, and must be deleted when no longer needed. Before collecting data, people must be told the purpose, the recipients and their rights.
  3. As a general rule, processing data requires the consent of the person affected. Especially sensitive data, such as ideology, religion, health or racial origin, may only be processed with express consent or when a law allows it.
  4. People have free rights of access, rectification, cancellation and objection regarding their data, which must be handled within set deadlines, and can complain to the Data Protection Agency if these rights are denied.
  5. Data files must be reported and registered with the General Data Protection Registry, and those responsible must adopt security measures and keep data secret. Sending data to countries without comparable protection requires prior authorization.
  6. Violations are punished with fines depending on how serious the offense is, up to very serious violations, and the Agency can even freeze files in cases of serious unlawful use.

Who it affects

  • Anyone whose data is recorded, who gains rights of information, access, rectification, cancellation and objection.: benefit
  • Private companies and entities that process personal data, which must obtain consent, report their files and meet security requirements.: obligation
  • Public administrations, which must create their files through an order published in the official gazette and follow special rules for sharing data among themselves.: obligation
  • The Spanish security forces (Fuerzas y Cuerpos de Seguridad), with specific rules for data collected for police purposes.: obligation
  • The Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia de Protección de Datos), which monitors compliance, inspects and imposes sanctions.: power

Words worth knowing

Fichero
An organized set of personal data, whether on paper or on a computer.
Tratamiento de datos
Any operation with personal data: collecting, storing, using, sharing or deleting it.
Responsable del fichero o tratamiento
The person or body that decides the purpose and the way data is used.
Agencia de Protección de Datos
An independent public body that oversees compliance with this law and sanctions those who break it.
Censo promocional
A list with name and address from the electoral roll that can be used to send advertising.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries

Where it stands

How far did it get?

It took 7 of 7 steps. It reached BOE, and today it is passed.

  1. Introduced30 July 1998Someone registers the text in the Congreso.
  2. Admitted31 July 1998The Bureau of the Congreso accepts it and, for a members’ bill, the plenary decides whether to consider it.
  3. Amendments31 August 1998Groups propose changes.
  4. Committee28 October 1998A committee goes through the text in detail.
  5. Plenary15 September 1999All 350 deputies vote.
  6. Senate30 September 1999The Senate can pass it, amend it or veto it.
  7. BOE25 November 1999It is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and comes into force.
See the 9 official steps on a timeline
Sept 1998Dec 1998Mar 1999Jun 1999Sept 199911. 30 July 1998: Presentación22. 31 July 1998: Comisión Constitucional Publicación desde 31/07/1998 hasta 31/08/199833. 31 July 1998: Calificación44. 31 August 1998: Comisión Constitucional Enmiendas desde 31/08/1998 hasta 28/10/199855. 28 October 1998: Comisión Constitucional Informe desde 28/10/1998 hasta 07/09/199966. 7 September 1999: Comisión Constitucional Dictamen desde 07/09/1999 hasta 15/09/199977. 15 September 1999: Pleno Aprobación desde 15/09/1999 hasta 30/09/199988. 30 September 1999: Senado desde 30/09/1999 hasta 25/11/199999. 25 November 1999: Concluido - (Aprobado con modificaciones) desde 25/11/1999 hasta 21/12/1999

Was there a plenary vote?

We have no plenary vote linked to this law in the Congreso’s data.

What happens next

What happens now?

It is law, or will be once published in the BOE. It comes into force on the date its own text sets.

Published in the BOE: Organic Act 15/1999, of December 13, on the Protection of Personal Data.

Sources

Where does all this come from?

  • The data comes from the open files of the Congreso, the Senate and the BOE, unaltered.
  • Each deputy’s province is the one of their seat on the day of the vote.
  • We only say “passed” or “rejected” when the majority needed is certain; otherwise we say which side had more votes.

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