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Two or three countries, side by side, one row per question. Pick up to 3.

Countries

ArgentinaChecked 18 August 2026

Yes, with paperworkWork: MediumEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Argentina lets personal data leave the country, but only on paper terms it sets. You either send it to a country the regulator has approved, or you sign the regulator's own model contract with the receiver. No industry has to keep data inside Argentina. Fines are tiny in dollars, but the regulator can order a database shut down, and some misuse is a crime.
The catch: There is no data-residency wall in Argentina, but four sector rules still catch people out. Banks and payment firms must run their technology and security management from inside Argentina, must tell the banking supervisor before they outsource, and must report a cyber incident within one hour. Government bodies must have a working backup data centre by late 2026. And nobody may publish a map showing Argentine territory without the national mapping agency's prior approval.
Does this apply to me?: The main privacy law is Ley 25.326, passed in 2000. It covers personal data held in any file or database in Argentina, public or private. There is no size threshold, no revenue threshold, and no duty to appoint a local representative. The law does not clearly say it reaches a foreign company with no presence in Argentina, and in practice the regulator has acted against local subsidiaries of global firms rather than against foreign entities directly.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Yes, with paperwork. The rule is that personal data may not go to a country that does not protect it well enough. The regulator publishes a list of countries it accepts, and for everywhere else you sign its model contract with the receiver. We looked for industries that must keep data inside Argentina - banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, telecoms, government cloud and mapping - and found none as of 18 August 2026.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: The model is an approved-destinations list, and it is populated today with about a dozen places, including the whole European Union. If your destination is not on it, use the regulator's published model contract - two versions, one for handing data to another company that decides how to use it and one for a supplier processing it for you. Using the published wording needs no permission. If you change the wording, you must file the contract with the regulator within 30 days of signing.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The Agency for Access to Public Information, known by its Spanish initials AAIP, enforces both privacy and freedom of information. It is real and working: it has a named head, it publishes a register of final penalties that was updated on 3 July 2026, it opened a public investigation into debt-collection calls in April 2026, and it chaired an international data-protection committee in July 2026. Its 244 final penalties are mostly small, and more than half are for calling people on the do-not-call list.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Argentina has strong floors and one hard ceiling. Anti-money-laundering rules make banks, insurers, crypto firms, accountants and estate agents keep transaction records and customer files for at least ten years. Clinical records must be kept ten years from the last entry. Banks must keep audit and accounting support data six years and produce it immediately on demand. The ceiling: credit-reporting data may only show the last five years, dropping to two years once the debt is paid.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: There is no general duty to report a data breach in Argentina, checked on 18 August 2026 - the privacy law has no deadline and the regulator's security rules are recommendations, not commands. Finance is the exception and the clock is brutal: banks and registered payment firms must tell the banking supervisor within one hour of an incident happening or being spotted, keep sending updates, and file a closing report within five days.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things bite people. Answer times are very short: ten days for an access request and five working days to correct or delete. The maximum fine is one hundred thousand pesos, about seventy US dollars, so the real risk is a shutdown order or a criminal case, not the fine. Databases still have to be registered. Publishing a map of Argentina needs government approval first. And a bank cannot run its technology and security management from abroad.High confidence
What's about to change?: Nothing is scheduled to replace the privacy law. A reform bill went to Congress in 2023 and never became law; the regulator is still campaigning for a new one. The dated thing to watch is government cybersecurity: public bodies have about 180 days from 13 May 2026 to have contingency plans and a working alternative data centre, which lands around November 2026, and a new national cybersecurity centre started issuing rules in 2026.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: None found.

CanadaChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Canada lets data leave the country. There is no approved-country list and no banned-country list. You stay responsible for the data wherever it goes, and you must tell people it may be handled abroad. The catch is that Canada is really ten jurisdictions at once, and several of them add hard storage rules on top of the national one.
The catch: The relaxed national answer stops being true the moment you touch four things: personal information about people in Quebec, a Nova Scotia public body or its suppliers, federal government data rated Protected B or higher, or a federally regulated bank. Add to that a brand-new cyber security law that says records about critical systems in banking, telecoms, energy and transport must be kept in Canada. In those places Canada is genuinely restrictive.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. Canada's national privacy law reaches a foreign company with no office here if it handles personal information about people in Canada as part of doing business. There is no revenue or headcount threshold that lets you out. You do not normally need a local representative, but payment companies are an exception: a payment firm based abroad that aims its service at people in Canada must register with the central bank and name an agent inside Canada to receive official notices.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: In general, yes, and with no government permission. Canada's national law does not restrict where personal data is stored or processed. But the headline is wrong for at least six groups. Quebec makes you do a written risk assessment first — and that applies even to sending data to Ontario. Nova Scotia public bodies and their suppliers must keep the data in Canada. Federal government data rated Protected B or higher must sit in Canada. Banks must keep a full copy of their records on servers in Canada. And under the new cyber security law, records about critical systems must be kept in Canada.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: At the national level there is no list at all — no approved countries, no banned countries, no government form to file. What you must do instead is stay accountable: put a contract or similar protection in place with whoever handles the data for you, and tell people plainly that their information may be processed in another country and could be seen by foreign courts, police or security agencies. Quebec is different and stricter: there you must complete a written privacy risk assessment before the data moves, and sign a written agreement.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: Canada has many regulators and they are all real, staffed and issuing decisions. The national one, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, published findings against OpenAI, X, Bell and WestJet in the first half of 2026 alone. But it cannot fine anyone — it makes findings and recommendations, and a case has to go to the Federal Court for money. Quebec's regulator can fine, and has blocked a national grocery chain from switching on a face-recognition system. Banking, payments and cyber security each have their own separate supervisor.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: The floor and the ceiling pull in opposite directions. Tax law says keep your business records for six years after the tax year they relate to, and keep them at a place of business in Canada unless the tax authority agrees to somewhere else. Privacy law says the opposite: delete personal information once the reason you collected it has gone. Where the two clash, the duty to keep wins — but only for the specific records the law names, and only for as long as it names.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count at least four clocks and they do not agree. The national privacy law gives no fixed number of hours — you report 'as soon as feasible', which in practice means days, not weeks. Payment firms get 48 hours to tell the central bank about a serious incident. Critical infrastructure operators will get no more than 72 hours to tell the national cyber agency, then must tell their own regulator immediately after. Health and provincial rules add more. The overlap is where people get caught: one incident, several reports, several deadlines.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that are not in any summary. Quebec's cross-border rule catches you sending data to Ontario, not just abroad. Quebec also makes you tell its regulator 60 days before you switch on any face or fingerprint system, and it has already blocked a big grocery chain from doing so. British Columbia repealed its keep-it-in-Canada rule in 2021, so trackers that still show it are wrong. Nova Scotia's Canada-only rule reaches private suppliers, with fines up to half a million dollars. And your tax records have to sit at a place of business in Canada.High confidence
What's about to change?: One big bill and one big law already passed. The bill is Canada's third attempt to replace its 25-year-old privacy law: it would force a written risk assessment before any personal data goes outside Canada, give people a right to have data deleted, treat everyone under 18 as sensitive, and set up a new commissioner. It was only introduced in June 2026 and is not law — do not plan around it as if it were. The law already passed is the cyber security act, which switches on in stages over the coming year.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: Government — Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act
Government — Direction for Electronic Data Residency (ITPIN 2017-02), with the Policy on Service and Digital
Banking — Guideline B-10 Third-Party Risk Management, read with Bank Act section 245 and the equivalent provisions of the Insurance Companies Act and Trust and Loan Companies Act
All industries — Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, enacted by the Cyber Security Act (Bill C-8)

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	ArgentinaChecked 18 August 2026	CanadaChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Yes, with paperwork Work: Medium Enforcement: Active	Depends on your industry Work: High Enforcement: Active
In one paragraph	Argentina lets personal data leave the country, but only on paper terms it sets. You either send it to a country the regulator has approved, or you sign the regulator's own model contract with the receiver. No industry has to keep data inside Argentina. Fines are tiny in dollars, but the regulator can order a database shut down, and some misuse is a crime.	Canada lets data leave the country. There is no approved-country list and no banned-country list. You stay responsible for the data wherever it goes, and you must tell people it may be handled abroad. The catch is that Canada is really ten jurisdictions at once, and several of them add hard storage rules on top of the national one.
The catch	There is no data-residency wall in Argentina, but four sector rules still catch people out. Banks and payment firms must run their technology and security management from inside Argentina, must tell the banking supervisor before they outsource, and must report a cyber incident within one hour. Government bodies must have a working backup data centre by late 2026. And nobody may publish a map showing Argentine territory without the national mapping agency's prior approval.	The relaxed national answer stops being true the moment you touch four things: personal information about people in Quebec, a Nova Scotia public body or its suppliers, federal government data rated Protected B or higher, or a federally regulated bank. Add to that a brand-new cyber security law that says records about critical systems in banking, telecoms, energy and transport must be kept in Canada. In those places Canada is genuinely restrictive.
Does this apply to me?	The main privacy law is Ley 25.326, passed in 2000. It covers personal data held in any file or database in Argentina, public or private. There is no size threshold, no revenue threshold, and no duty to appoint a local representative. The law does not clearly say it reaches a foreign company with no presence in Argentina, and in practice the regulator has acted against local subsidiaries of global firms rather than against foreign entities directly.High confidence	Yes. Canada's national privacy law reaches a foreign company with no office here if it handles personal information about people in Canada as part of doing business. There is no revenue or headcount threshold that lets you out. You do not normally need a local representative, but payment companies are an exception: a payment firm based abroad that aims its service at people in Canada must register with the central bank and name an agent inside Canada to receive official notices.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?	Yes, with paperwork. The rule is that personal data may not go to a country that does not protect it well enough. The regulator publishes a list of countries it accepts, and for everywhere else you sign its model contract with the receiver. We looked for industries that must keep data inside Argentina - banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, telecoms, government cloud and mapping - and found none as of 18 August 2026.High confidence	In general, yes, and with no government permission. Canada's national law does not restrict where personal data is stored or processed. But the headline is wrong for at least six groups. Quebec makes you do a written risk assessment first — and that applies even to sending data to Ontario. Nova Scotia public bodies and their suppliers must keep the data in Canada. Federal government data rated Protected B or higher must sit in Canada. Banks must keep a full copy of their records on servers in Canada. And under the new cyber security law, records about critical systems must be kept in Canada.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	The model is an approved-destinations list, and it is populated today with about a dozen places, including the whole European Union. If your destination is not on it, use the regulator's published model contract - two versions, one for handing data to another company that decides how to use it and one for a supplier processing it for you. Using the published wording needs no permission. If you change the wording, you must file the contract with the regulator within 30 days of signing.High confidence	At the national level there is no list at all — no approved countries, no banned countries, no government form to file. What you must do instead is stay accountable: put a contract or similar protection in place with whoever handles the data for you, and tell people plainly that their information may be processed in another country and could be seen by foreign courts, police or security agencies. Quebec is different and stricter: there you must complete a written privacy risk assessment before the data moves, and sign a written agreement.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	The Agency for Access to Public Information, known by its Spanish initials AAIP, enforces both privacy and freedom of information. It is real and working: it has a named head, it publishes a register of final penalties that was updated on 3 July 2026, it opened a public investigation into debt-collection calls in April 2026, and it chaired an international data-protection committee in July 2026. Its 244 final penalties are mostly small, and more than half are for calling people on the do-not-call list.High confidence	Canada has many regulators and they are all real, staffed and issuing decisions. The national one, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, published findings against OpenAI, X, Bell and WestJet in the first half of 2026 alone. But it cannot fine anyone — it makes findings and recommendations, and a case has to go to the Federal Court for money. Quebec's regulator can fine, and has blocked a national grocery chain from switching on a face-recognition system. Banking, payments and cyber security each have their own separate supervisor.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	Argentina has strong floors and one hard ceiling. Anti-money-laundering rules make banks, insurers, crypto firms, accountants and estate agents keep transaction records and customer files for at least ten years. Clinical records must be kept ten years from the last entry. Banks must keep audit and accounting support data six years and produce it immediately on demand. The ceiling: credit-reporting data may only show the last five years, dropping to two years once the debt is paid.High confidence	The floor and the ceiling pull in opposite directions. Tax law says keep your business records for six years after the tax year they relate to, and keep them at a place of business in Canada unless the tax authority agrees to somewhere else. Privacy law says the opposite: delete personal information once the reason you collected it has gone. Where the two clash, the duty to keep wins — but only for the specific records the law names, and only for as long as it names.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	There is no general duty to report a data breach in Argentina, checked on 18 August 2026 - the privacy law has no deadline and the regulator's security rules are recommendations, not commands. Finance is the exception and the clock is brutal: banks and registered payment firms must tell the banking supervisor within one hour of an incident happening or being spotted, keep sending updates, and file a closing report within five days.High confidence	Count at least four clocks and they do not agree. The national privacy law gives no fixed number of hours — you report 'as soon as feasible', which in practice means days, not weeks. Payment firms get 48 hours to tell the central bank about a serious incident. Critical infrastructure operators will get no more than 72 hours to tell the national cyber agency, then must tell their own regulator immediately after. Health and provincial rules add more. The overlap is where people get caught: one incident, several reports, several deadlines.High confidence
What's the trap?	Five things bite people. Answer times are very short: ten days for an access request and five working days to correct or delete. The maximum fine is one hundred thousand pesos, about seventy US dollars, so the real risk is a shutdown order or a criminal case, not the fine. Databases still have to be registered. Publishing a map of Argentina needs government approval first. And a bank cannot run its technology and security management from abroad.High confidence	Five things that are not in any summary. Quebec's cross-border rule catches you sending data to Ontario, not just abroad. Quebec also makes you tell its regulator 60 days before you switch on any face or fingerprint system, and it has already blocked a big grocery chain from doing so. British Columbia repealed its keep-it-in-Canada rule in 2021, so trackers that still show it are wrong. Nova Scotia's Canada-only rule reaches private suppliers, with fines up to half a million dollars. And your tax records have to sit at a place of business in Canada.High confidence
What's about to change?	Nothing is scheduled to replace the privacy law. A reform bill went to Congress in 2023 and never became law; the regulator is still campaigning for a new one. The dated thing to watch is government cybersecurity: public bodies have about 180 days from 13 May 2026 to have contingency plans and a working alternative data centre, which lands around November 2026, and a new national cybersecurity centre started issuing rules in 2026.Medium confidence	One big bill and one big law already passed. The bill is Canada's third attempt to replace its 25-year-old privacy law: it would force a written risk assessment before any personal data goes outside Canada, give people a right to have data deleted, treat everyone under 18 as sensitive, and set up a new commissioner. It was only introduced in June 2026 and is not law — do not plan around it as if it were. The law already passed is the cyber security act, which switches on in stages over the coming year.High confidence
Hardest industry wall	None found.	Government — Personal Information International Disclosure Protection Act Government — Direction for Electronic Data Residency (ITPIN 2017-02), with the Policy on Service and Digital Banking — Guideline B-10 Third-Party Risk Management, read with Bank Act section 245 and the equivalent provisions of the Insurance Companies Act and Trust and Loan Companies Act All industries — Critical Cyber Systems Protection Act, enacted by the Cyber Security Act (Bill C-8)