On April 27, 2010, the Mexican Senate passed a data protection law that addresses how private and public entities handle the collection, use and disclosure of personal information of Mexican residents. The new law expands the authority of the Mexico’s data protection authority, now called the Federal Institute of Access to Information and Data Protection. The Institute will conduct inspections and enforce compliance with the new law.

On May 1, 2010, Alberta became the first Canadian province to pass a general data breach notification law. Bill 54 added new sections to The Personal Information Protection Act, and requires that notice of a data breach be provided to affected individuals and Alberta’s Information and Privacy Commissioner. Notice to individuals is only required if there is a “real risk of significant harm.”

Click here to view the text of the data protection law in Mexico (in Spanish).

Click here to view the Alberta law.