DataGuidance confirmed, on 4 September 2018, with Siaska SSS Lorenzo, Managing Partner at Arias, that Draft Law No. 665 on the Protection of Personal Data ('the Draft Law') had been submitted to the Panama National Assembly ('the National Assembly') on 20 August 2018. Lorenzo noted, "A draft for a new law was submitted again to the National Assembly for the first stage of discussions. It must pass three stages before it can turn into a formal law. The Draft Law is open for discussion now, so changes should be expected to be included in the original wording."

In particular, the Draft Law seeks to safeguard and guarantee citizen's right to data protection by regulating the processing of personal data, be it automated or not, and would apply to natural and legal persons, of private and public character, both for and not for profit, that carry out the processing or storage of personal data. The Draft Law includes definitions on consent, data controller and data processor, establishes data subject rights, as well as addresses data security and cross-border data transfers. In addition, the Draft Law provides the National Authority of Transparency and Access to Information with the authority to enforce the provisions of the Draft Law, as well as provides for penalties in case of violations. Moreover, the explanatory memorandum of the Draft Law highlights that discussion of Draft Law No. 463 on the Protection of Personal Data, which was presented to the National Assembly on February 2017, was suspended and the draft was revoked on November 2017.

You can read the Draft Law, only available in Spanish, here.