02/20/2026
Hey everyone, it's Michelle! 🌎✈️ In about three weeks, I’m trading the Massachusetts winter for the Chilean winter and moving to Santiago!
As I pack my bags, I’ve been unpacking something else fascinating: Chile’s new legal framework for data. If you’re a US business owner thinking international law doesn't affect you, think again. Chile is setting a standard that frankly makes US data privacy look like a joke.
Here are the two massive new laws you need to know:
1️⃣ Cybersecurity Framework Law: If your business suffers an attack involving personal data theft, you have THREE hours to report it. Yes, three. For other attacks, it's 72 hours. Make sure you have protocols in place!
2️⃣ Data Protection (Effective Dec 1st): Think of this as the Chilean GDPR. A huge focus is data minimization—you can't hoard info "just because." You need a legitimate, legal reason for every piece of data you store. Violating this could cost up to $1.4 million or 4% of global revenue. 💸
If you're online, your business can be accessed by anyone, so it's best to err on the side of caution. I’m auditing my own CRM to delete any extraneous data (sorry, I don't really need to know your favorite color!).
📅 HOUSEKEEPING: I will be in the air and unreachable from March 16th to March 17th. Business as usual before and after, but during that flight, I’m off the grid.
Check your data, protect your clients, and stay tuned for more updates from Chile!✨