Argentina advances data law, Ema Law moves ahead

Argentina has reopened its regulatory debate with two parallel moves, a new data protection bill presented on July 16, 2026 by lawmaker Agustín Rossi, and the Ema Law, which won preliminary approval in the Buenos Aires Provincial Chamber of Deputies and moved on to the Senate. The two texts address different areas, but point to a shared agenda around data handling, digital violence and the use of technology.

What changes in the national data bill?

The bill expands the territorial reach of the law to controllers and processors based abroad when they handle personal data in Argentina, offer goods or services to people in the country, or carry out profiling, tracking or monitoring of the acts, behavior or interests of people in Argentina. Marval, O’Farrell & Mairal also said the text is in the legislative process, though it did not specify the bill number, originating chamber or committee.

The proposal was introduced again by Agustín Rossi after the original initiative lost parliamentary status. According to the law firm, the new bill also covers activities that fall under Argentine law through international law or contractual agreements. At the same time, a La Nación column said the reform introduces, for the first time in a systematic way, specific sections on cybercrime.

What cybercrimes does the reform include?

The La Nación column mentions chapters on phishing, damage to computer systems or data through ransomware, fraud by altering how a system works, unauthorized access to restricted systems, and the non-consensual spread of intimate images, known as revenge porn. The article does not identify the law number or the formal status of the legislative process.

The same note adds that the bill foresees a compliance regime for companies. Under that view, companies that can prove serious internal controls to prevent crimes would receive different treatment from those designed directly to commit them.

What happened to the Ema Law in Buenos Aires?

The Ema Law won preliminary approval on Thursday, August 28, 2026 in the Buenos Aires provincial lower house and was sent to the Senate for further consideration. The initiative seeks to prevent and comprehensively address digital violence in educational settings in the Province of Buenos Aires.

According to LU9 Mar del Plata, La Posta Noticias and La Provincia en Vivo, the bill creates a provincial Program for the Prevention and Comprehensive Address of Digital Violence in Educational Settings. It also adds a subsection to Provincial Education Law 13,688 to include training on responsible technology use, consent, privacy, digital rights, and the ethical and critical use of artificial intelligence.

The proposal also calls for updated school guides and response protocols for cases of harassment on virtual platforms. Another key point is mandatory and ongoing training in the prevention of digital violence for all education system staff.

What do these initiatives suggest?

The two debates show an attempt to bring order, from different angles, to problems that are already part of the public agenda. At the national level, the focus is on personal data, extraterritorial reach and cybercrime. At the provincial level, the response centers on schools, training and protocols against digital violence.

In that same regulatory map, Polifonía said that, at least until its publication, Argentina still did not have a congressional law in force on AI regulation, based on the 2025 Legislative Dossier from the National Congress Library. Meanwhile, El Cohete a la Luna criticized a broader package that would include an expanded RIGI, a data reform, lobbying rules and provisions on automated companies and DAOs, though it did not provide the legislative text or the bill numbers it referenced.