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

Countries

AustriaChecked 18 August 2026

Yes, with paperworkWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Austria does not require personal data to be kept in Austria, and we found no Austrian industry that does. Data can leave once the right paperwork is in place under European rules. What Austria adds is a secrecy layer: a constitutional right to data secrecy, a staff secrecy duty, an extra fine of up to 50,000 euros (about $58,000), and a prison offence of up to one year.
The catch: "No local storage needed" is true. "Nothing extra to do" is not. Austria's real cost sits in the secrecy layer, not in a map. A standard supplier data agreement does not satisfy Austrian data secrecy on its own, a child can consent at fourteen rather than sixteen, and misusing data you learned at work is a criminal matter in Austria, not just a fine. Health data also moves only inside a closed, encrypted Austrian health network, which in practice narrows your supplier list even though no law names a country.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. A company with no office in Austria is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Austria, or watches what they do online. There is no size or revenue floor to duck under. If you have no establishment anywhere in the European Union, you must name a representative inside the Union in writing. Austria does not add a second, Austria-only representative on top of that.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Yes, with paperwork. We looked for an Austrian rule forcing data to stay in Austria and found none — not in banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, telecoms, government or mapping. Austrian health data is the closest thing to a wall, but it is a technical wall, not a geographic one: findings move only inside a closed, encrypted Austrian health network between registered care providers. Checked on 18 August 2026.Medium confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: The model is an approved-destination list. Sending data outside Europe is fine if the destination is on the European Commission's approved list. If it is not, you sign the European standard contract, or use approved group-wide rules, and you write down a short risk assessment first. You do not need permission from the Austrian regulator. Its own words: apart from a few special cases, international data traffic needs no approval.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The Austrian Data Protection Authority, and it is genuinely working. It has had a permanent head, Matthias Schmidl, since 1 January 2024, a deputy, and five departments. It issues decisions, and on 24 June 2026 Austria's highest administrative court confirmed a 13 million euro fine (about $15 million) for building political-opinion profiles on around 2.2 million people. The court held the fine is measured against the whole group's turnover, not one product line.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: There is a ceiling and a floor, and they pull against each other. The ceiling is European: keep personal data no longer than you need it, then delete it. The floor is Austrian tax and company law, which makes you keep books, invoices and business records for years after the year they relate to. Where the two clash, the keeping duty wins for as long as it runs, and the data must then be deleted.Medium confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count at least two clocks, sometimes four. For a personal data breach you tell the Austrian Data Protection Authority without delay and if possible within 72 hours, and if you are late you must explain in writing why. If you run an essential service you also report significant incidents to Austria's network security authority. Banks and insurers report separately under European financial rules, and telecom operators have their own duty.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five that cost people their weekend. A child can consent at fourteen in Austria, not sixteen. Misusing data you only learned about through your job is a crime punishable by up to a year in prison. There is a second, separate Austrian fine of up to 50,000 euros (about $58,000) for breaking data secrecy or running a camera unlawfully. Austrian public bodies cannot be fined at all, but you still can. And the law tells the regulator to warn first, which is not the same as forgiveness.High confidence
What's about to change?: Three things to watch. Austria's Constitutional Court is deciding whether the state may plant software on a phone to read messages; it heard the case on 22 June 2026 and has not ruled. Austria has still not written the new European cybersecurity rules into national law, so that expansion is still ahead of you. And from 12 January 2027, cloud providers across Europe may no longer charge you to move your data out.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: None found.

BrazilChecked 18 August 2026

Yes, with paperworkWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Brazil does not force data to stay inside the country. Personal data can leave, but since August 2025 you normally need a contract written by the regulator, word for word, signed with whoever receives it. Sending data to the European Union needs nothing extra. The regulator is awake and has started switching features off large platforms.
The catch: Brazil is often listed as a data-localisation country. It is not one. The old rule that pushed federal government email and data onto Brazilian systems was scrapped in 2018, and today's federal cloud rules do not require Brazilian soil. The real constraints are different in shape: banks must keep the central bank able to reach their data wherever it sits, and since July 2026 digital platforms must have an actual office and a legal representative inside Brazil.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. Brazil's privacy law reaches a company with no office in Brazil, as long as it collects data in Brazil or offers goods or services to people here. There is no size or revenue threshold that lets you out. The privacy law itself does not make you appoint anyone local — but two newer rules do, and if you run a digital platform you now need a registered office and a legal representative in Brazil.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: Yes, with paperwork. Brazil has no rule making anyone keep a copy of anything inside the country — not for banks, not for hospitals, not even for the federal government's own cloud. What it has instead is a permission slip: before personal data leaves, you need one of a short list of approved legal grounds. Industry rules add conditions on top, but none of them is a wall.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: Pick one of five routes. The easy one is the European Union: since January 2026 Brazil treats it as safe, so nothing extra is needed. For everywhere else, the normal route is a set of standard contractual clauses that the regulator itself wrote — you copy them into your contract exactly, and you may not edit them. A deadline to retrofit older contracts already passed, on 23 August 2025.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The National Data Protection Authority, and it is genuinely working. A law passed in February 2026 gave it real independence, 200 new specialist jobs and its own budget. In August 2026 it ordered Discord to switch off live video streaming in Brazil within three working days, to protect children. Banking, telecoms, insurance and securities regulators enforce their own rules in parallel and have done so for years.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Both directions, and they pull against each other. The floor: internet access providers must keep connection records for one year, websites and apps must keep access records for six months, and tax records need five years. The ceiling: the privacy law says personal data must be deleted once you have finished doing what you collected it for. Where the two clash, the legal duty to keep wins — the law lists that as an express reason to hold on.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count three clocks, not one. Privacy: three working days to tell the regulator AND the affected people, once you have confirmed a breach that could really hurt them. Platform content: two hours to take down intimate images shared without consent, once notified. On top of that, banks report incidents to the central bank and telecoms operators report to the telecoms regulator under their own separate timetables.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five. (1) Your European standard contract is not automatically good enough — Brazil wrote its own clauses and you must copy them exactly, unedited, and the deadline to fix old contracts passed on 23 August 2025. (2) A child in Brazil is under 12 and an adolescent is 12 to 17, but the social media rule bites at 16 — accounts for anyone up to 16 must be tied to a parent's account, and asking users to state their own age is banned. (3) Since 20 July 2026 a digital platform needs an actual registered office in Brazil, not just a lawyer on retainer. (4) The biggest fine is not in the privacy law: the internet law allows up to 10 percent of your group's Brazilian revenue. (5) The regulator can order your database blocked or your processing suspended, which usually hurts more than any cheque.High confidence
What's about to change?: One firm date: January 2027, when the regulator moves from monitoring platforms to full enforcement of the children's digital rules. Brazil's artificial intelligence bill is still only a bill — it was sitting in a committee waiting for a report as recently as June 2026, so do not plan around it. The bigger risk is not new law: it is that the regulator can add or withdraw approved destinations for data transfers by publishing a single resolution, with no consultation.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: None found.

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	AustriaChecked 18 August 2026	BrazilChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Yes, with paperwork Work: High Enforcement: Active	Yes, with paperwork Work: High Enforcement: Active
In one paragraph	Austria does not require personal data to be kept in Austria, and we found no Austrian industry that does. Data can leave once the right paperwork is in place under European rules. What Austria adds is a secrecy layer: a constitutional right to data secrecy, a staff secrecy duty, an extra fine of up to 50,000 euros (about $58,000), and a prison offence of up to one year.	Brazil does not force data to stay inside the country. Personal data can leave, but since August 2025 you normally need a contract written by the regulator, word for word, signed with whoever receives it. Sending data to the European Union needs nothing extra. The regulator is awake and has started switching features off large platforms.
The catch	"No local storage needed" is true. "Nothing extra to do" is not. Austria's real cost sits in the secrecy layer, not in a map. A standard supplier data agreement does not satisfy Austrian data secrecy on its own, a child can consent at fourteen rather than sixteen, and misusing data you learned at work is a criminal matter in Austria, not just a fine. Health data also moves only inside a closed, encrypted Austrian health network, which in practice narrows your supplier list even though no law names a country.	Brazil is often listed as a data-localisation country. It is not one. The old rule that pushed federal government email and data onto Brazilian systems was scrapped in 2018, and today's federal cloud rules do not require Brazilian soil. The real constraints are different in shape: banks must keep the central bank able to reach their data wherever it sits, and since July 2026 digital platforms must have an actual office and a legal representative inside Brazil.
Does this apply to me?	Yes. A company with no office in Austria is still caught if it offers goods or services to people in Austria, or watches what they do online. There is no size or revenue floor to duck under. If you have no establishment anywhere in the European Union, you must name a representative inside the Union in writing. Austria does not add a second, Austria-only representative on top of that.High confidence	Yes. Brazil's privacy law reaches a company with no office in Brazil, as long as it collects data in Brazil or offers goods or services to people here. There is no size or revenue threshold that lets you out. The privacy law itself does not make you appoint anyone local — but two newer rules do, and if you run a digital platform you now need a registered office and a legal representative in Brazil.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?	Yes, with paperwork. We looked for an Austrian rule forcing data to stay in Austria and found none — not in banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, telecoms, government or mapping. Austrian health data is the closest thing to a wall, but it is a technical wall, not a geographic one: findings move only inside a closed, encrypted Austrian health network between registered care providers. Checked on 18 August 2026.Medium confidence	Yes, with paperwork. Brazil has no rule making anyone keep a copy of anything inside the country — not for banks, not for hospitals, not even for the federal government's own cloud. What it has instead is a permission slip: before personal data leaves, you need one of a short list of approved legal grounds. Industry rules add conditions on top, but none of them is a wall.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	The model is an approved-destination list. Sending data outside Europe is fine if the destination is on the European Commission's approved list. If it is not, you sign the European standard contract, or use approved group-wide rules, and you write down a short risk assessment first. You do not need permission from the Austrian regulator. Its own words: apart from a few special cases, international data traffic needs no approval.High confidence	Pick one of five routes. The easy one is the European Union: since January 2026 Brazil treats it as safe, so nothing extra is needed. For everywhere else, the normal route is a set of standard contractual clauses that the regulator itself wrote — you copy them into your contract exactly, and you may not edit them. A deadline to retrofit older contracts already passed, on 23 August 2025.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	The Austrian Data Protection Authority, and it is genuinely working. It has had a permanent head, Matthias Schmidl, since 1 January 2024, a deputy, and five departments. It issues decisions, and on 24 June 2026 Austria's highest administrative court confirmed a 13 million euro fine (about $15 million) for building political-opinion profiles on around 2.2 million people. The court held the fine is measured against the whole group's turnover, not one product line.High confidence	The National Data Protection Authority, and it is genuinely working. A law passed in February 2026 gave it real independence, 200 new specialist jobs and its own budget. In August 2026 it ordered Discord to switch off live video streaming in Brazil within three working days, to protect children. Banking, telecoms, insurance and securities regulators enforce their own rules in parallel and have done so for years.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	There is a ceiling and a floor, and they pull against each other. The ceiling is European: keep personal data no longer than you need it, then delete it. The floor is Austrian tax and company law, which makes you keep books, invoices and business records for years after the year they relate to. Where the two clash, the keeping duty wins for as long as it runs, and the data must then be deleted.Medium confidence	Both directions, and they pull against each other. The floor: internet access providers must keep connection records for one year, websites and apps must keep access records for six months, and tax records need five years. The ceiling: the privacy law says personal data must be deleted once you have finished doing what you collected it for. Where the two clash, the legal duty to keep wins — the law lists that as an express reason to hold on.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	Count at least two clocks, sometimes four. For a personal data breach you tell the Austrian Data Protection Authority without delay and if possible within 72 hours, and if you are late you must explain in writing why. If you run an essential service you also report significant incidents to Austria's network security authority. Banks and insurers report separately under European financial rules, and telecom operators have their own duty.High confidence	Count three clocks, not one. Privacy: three working days to tell the regulator AND the affected people, once you have confirmed a breach that could really hurt them. Platform content: two hours to take down intimate images shared without consent, once notified. On top of that, banks report incidents to the central bank and telecoms operators report to the telecoms regulator under their own separate timetables.High confidence
What's the trap?	Five that cost people their weekend. A child can consent at fourteen in Austria, not sixteen. Misusing data you only learned about through your job is a crime punishable by up to a year in prison. There is a second, separate Austrian fine of up to 50,000 euros (about $58,000) for breaking data secrecy or running a camera unlawfully. Austrian public bodies cannot be fined at all, but you still can. And the law tells the regulator to warn first, which is not the same as forgiveness.High confidence	Five. (1) Your European standard contract is not automatically good enough — Brazil wrote its own clauses and you must copy them exactly, unedited, and the deadline to fix old contracts passed on 23 August 2025. (2) A child in Brazil is under 12 and an adolescent is 12 to 17, but the social media rule bites at 16 — accounts for anyone up to 16 must be tied to a parent's account, and asking users to state their own age is banned. (3) Since 20 July 2026 a digital platform needs an actual registered office in Brazil, not just a lawyer on retainer. (4) The biggest fine is not in the privacy law: the internet law allows up to 10 percent of your group's Brazilian revenue. (5) The regulator can order your database blocked or your processing suspended, which usually hurts more than any cheque.High confidence
What's about to change?	Three things to watch. Austria's Constitutional Court is deciding whether the state may plant software on a phone to read messages; it heard the case on 22 June 2026 and has not ruled. Austria has still not written the new European cybersecurity rules into national law, so that expansion is still ahead of you. And from 12 January 2027, cloud providers across Europe may no longer charge you to move your data out.High confidence	One firm date: January 2027, when the regulator moves from monitoring platforms to full enforcement of the children's digital rules. Brazil's artificial intelligence bill is still only a bill — it was sitting in a committee waiting for a report as recently as June 2026, so do not plan around it. The bigger risk is not new law: it is that the regulator can add or withdraw approved destinations for data transfers by publishing a single resolution, with no consultation.High confidence
Hardest industry wall	None found.	None found.