EPISODE 4

Ecuador: From a Country-Wide Data Breach to One of the Most Innovative Privacy Laws in the Region

Produced by Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo. In 2019, Ecuador went through the biggest data breach in its history, with the personal data of most citizens leaked online. The consequences are still difficult to measure, but the gravity of the situation pushed everyone to act- FINALLY privacy advocates who had been pushing for data protection legislation for years were able to capitalize on this event to get a law passed in May of this year. The best part of the story, –and the one we’re telling in this episode– is, what happened behind the scenes: how privacy advocates and experts in Ecuador came together to discuss the issues and build a comprehensive and innovative privacy law. Guided by Ricardo Chica from Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo we also look at what activists are doing now that the law has passed and what needs to change in Ecuador to not only prevent future data breaches and violations but to also promote a culture of privacy in the country.

Credits

Research and Interviews: Rircardo Chica, Laura Vidal, Laura Schwartz-Henderson
Concept and script: Laura Vidal & Ricardo Chica
Entrevistas: Daniela Macías and Matthew Armijos Burneo. Con extractos de La Regla del Pomodoro, de Fundamedios, en los que participan Lorena Naranjo, Frank LaRue and Luis Enríquez.
With the voices of Ben Whitehead, Gina Helfrich and John Remensperger
Editing & Mixing: Laura Vidal & Ergi Shkëlzeni
Visual Design: Ura Design
Executive Producers: Laura Schwartz-Henderson and Laura Vidal
Sponsored by Internews and Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung Washington DC