Argentina: Class Action Claim Regarding Teachers' Personal Data

A court of the City of Buenos Aires overturned a precautionary measure that ordered the local government from requiring teachers to provide certain personal data.

The Court of Appeals in Administrative and Tax Matters of the City of Buenos Aires (“the Court”) overturned a precautionary measure requested by the Union of Education Workers (“the UEW”) which had ordered the Government of the City of Buenos Aires (“the GCBA”) to stop requesting certain personal data (Court of Appeals in Administrative and Tax Matters, Division II, “López, Eduardo Marcelo v. GCBA”, Docket No. A14386-2016/3, March 6, 2017).

The UEW had requested a precautionary measure aimed at preventing the IT system used by teachers in the City of Buenos Aires from requesting information which they claimed was sensitive and violated their privacy rights. The court of first instance granted the measure and also held that it met the requirements of a class action, since it sought to represent all the teachers of the City of Buenos Aires.

Subsequently, the Court partially granted an appeal by the GCBA. It held that the UEW has not provided sufficient facts and evidence to demonstrate that the right they sought to protect was plausible.

To that effect, the Court stated that the personal data collected by the IT system did not fall within the definition of sensitive personal data provided in section 3 of Law No. 1845 of the City of Buenos Aires, which extends to any personal data that reveals ethnical or racial origins, political opinions, religious or moral convictions, union membership, or information related to a person’s health or sex life. Furthermore, the Court emphasized the lack of supporting evidence provided by the claimant.

This case is important because it analyses the protection of sensitive personal data belonging to teachers and also because this discussion occurs in the context of a class action, a type of action which is unusual in data protection cases in Argentina.

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