BCCR defiende cruce de datos de deudores, Caja y Tributación para mejorar estadísticas crediticias
The Central Bank of Costa Rica (BCCR) maintains that it is necessary to access detailed information on debtors, including their national identification numbers, in order to cross-reference credit databases with tax and employment records. The monetary authority argues that anonymized data are insufficient for conducting precise statistical analyses that would enable a better understanding of the population’s economic characteristics and labor transitions. This data linkage is grounded in national legislation, which grants the BCCR the authority to produce statistics of public interest without requiring individual consent. However, this request has sparked strong controversy among financial institutions, banks, and business associations, which reject the proposal on the grounds that it violates the privacy and confidentiality of personal data. Banking entities insist that the information is sensitive and argue that they offer aggregated or anonymized data as an alternative, maintaining that the Central Bank has not accepted these less intrusive proposals. The tension has escalated to the point of involving criminal proceedings and statements from the Office of the Attorney General, which has clarified that access to the data does not constitute a breach of confidentiality, although it confirms that the institution has not yet obtained the information. This case is highly relevant to the field of open data, as it illustrates the delicate balance between transparency, statistical utility, and privacy protection. It highlights the technical and ethical challenges associated with interoperability between government and private databases. The debate underscores the need for clear regulatory frameworks that enable the use of data for the common good and public policy, without compromising citizens’ fundamental rights—a central issue in contemporary information governance.
Source: nacion.comPublished on 2023-08-23