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SloveniaChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: HighEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Slovenia has no general rule that data must stay in the country. It runs on the European rulebook: send data abroad once you have the right paperwork. Three things break that. The company running the new national health record system may not store data outside Slovenia. Government bodies may cloud only their least sensitive data. And working-time records must sit at the Slovenian workplace.
The catch: The easy answer stops being true in four places. First, health: the state-owned company running the central health information system is forbidden by law from transferring or storing personal data outside Slovenian territory, and every healthcare provider in the country must plug into that system. Second, government: a state administration body may only use a public cloud for the lowest security tiers of information, and only after the ministry approves in writing. Third, employment: the record of working time and the documents behind it must be kept at the employer's registered office or at the place where the worker actually works. Fourth, gambling: only a joint-stock company registered in Slovenia can hold a concession, and its system must be wired into the tax authority's own system. Banking, payments, insurance, securities, telecoms and mapping have no storage-location rule that we could find.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. Slovenia's privacy rules reach a company with no office there. If you offer goods or services to people in Slovenia, or watch what they do online, the European rules apply to you and Slovenia's own privacy act applies alongside them. There is no size or revenue threshold that lets you out. A company with no office anywhere in Europe must appoint a written representative inside Europe.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: In general yes, with paperwork — Slovenia adds no national storage-location rule of its own on top of the European regime. But four industries break that answer, and one of them is a hard wall. Health is the big one: the state company that runs Slovenia's central health record system is banned outright from storing or sending personal data outside Slovenia, and every healthcare provider must connect to that system. Government cloud, employment records and gambling each carry their own restriction.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: Slovenia uses the European model, and it works like an approved-destinations list with escape hatches. Data may go to a country the European Commission has approved. If the destination is not approved, you can still send data by signing the Commission's standard contract, using approved group-wide rules, or relying on one of a few narrow exceptions. Slovenia adds nothing of its own. The old Slovenian system, where the Information Commissioner had to authorise each export, was scrapped when the current privacy act arrived in January 2023.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The Information Commissioner, and it is genuinely working. In 2025 it opened 464 inspection cases from complaints plus 102 more from inspection reports, issued 134 enforcement decisions, fined in 89 of them, gave warnings in 45, and handed down what it calls its largest fine since the European rules began. It handled 153 breach reports. It is small: one commissioner and 53 staff at the end of 2025, and it says openly that it does not have enough people. Cybersecurity is enforced separately by a government office set up for the job.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: Both directions, and the floors are long. A patient's medical file must be kept for ten years after the patient dies, and other basic medical records for fifteen years. Records of who touched personal data in a computer system must be kept for two years after the end of the year, and up to five if the risk is high. Working-time records must be kept at the Slovenian workplace. In the other direction the European rule applies: delete personal data once the purpose is spent.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count three clocks, not one. A personal data breach goes to the Information Commissioner within 72 hours. A serious cyber incident, if you are an essential or important organisation, goes to the government security office immediately and in any case within 24 hours as an early warning, then a full report within 72 hours, then a final report within one month. Telecoms operators have their own duties on top. Missing the 24-hour warning is the most common failure, because it lands while you are still working out what happened.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that catch people out. A child can consent at 15 in Slovenia, not 16 — one year younger than the European default. Fingerprints and face scans are banned in the private sector unless a law allows them and the Commissioner approves. Every access to a covered database must be logged and the log kept two years. Leaking personal data you got through your job is a crime, not just a fine. And working-time records must physically be at the Slovenian workplace, which no cloud contract fixes.High confidence
What's about to change?: Two dates in the next twelve months matter most. On 19 December 2026 the cybersecurity duties bite for organisations newly captured by Slovenia's 2025 Information Security Act — registration, security measures and the incident clocks. On 12 January 2027 the European Data Act bans all cloud switching and data export fees. Behind both sits the roll-out of the national health record system, whose ban on storing data outside Slovenia is already law but whose timetable we could not pin down.Medium confidence
Hardest industry wall: Health and social care — Zakon o digitalizaciji zdravstva (ZDigZ)
All industries — Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o evidencah na področju dela in socialne varnosti (ZEPDSV-A)

MaltaChecked 18 August 2026

Depends on your industryWork: MediumEnforcement: Active

In one paragraph: Malta runs on the European rulebook. Data may go abroad once the right paperwork is in place, and there is no general rule that it must stay on the island. Two things break that. Online gaming companies must keep their core systems inside Europe. And any Maltese company that keeps its books abroad must still keep a copy of its accounts in Malta.
The catch: The easy answer stops being true in three places. First, online gaming, which is Malta's biggest regulated industry: a licensed operator's 'key technical setup' — including the player database, the financial database and the control system — must sit in Malta or another European Economic Area country, unless the Malta Gaming Authority approves another location one case at a time. The same operator must also run a live mirror of its essential regulatory data that the Authority can reach at any moment, including physically. Second, company law: if a company keeps its accounting records outside Malta, it must still send to Malta, and keep in Malta, accounts and returns good enough to show the financial position at least every six months. Third, government: the public administration's own cloud policy says cloud services should as a rule be inside the European Union or European Economic Area, and anything classified must go on the government's own cloud. Banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, education and mapping have no storage-location rule that we could find, checked 18 August 2026.
Does this apply to me?: Yes. Malta's Data Protection Act reaches a company with no office in Malta if it offers goods or services to people in Malta, or watches their behaviour in Malta. There is no size or revenue threshold. There is no extra Maltese representative to appoint beyond the one the European rules already require of companies based outside Europe.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?: In general, yes. Malta has no law saying personal data must be stored on the island. It follows the European Union rules: send data outside Europe once you have an approved destination or the right contract. Three areas override that. Online gaming is the big one, and it is Malta's flagship industry.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?: Use the European toolkit. Send data to a country the European Commission has approved, or sign the European standard contract, or use approved group-wide rules. Malta adds nothing on top. Malta's own minister has a power to restrict transfers of named categories of data, but has never used it, so the list of Maltese restrictions is empty today.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?: The Information and Data Protection Commissioner. It is real, staffed and issuing decisions: its public register shows around nineteen decisions published in 2026 and thirty-eight in 2025. The fines are small by European standards — most sit between about 2,000 and 20,000 euros (roughly $2,300 to $23,000). The gaming regulator is the harder one, and it cancels licences.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?: There is a floor and a ceiling. The floor: company accounting records for ten years, tax and value-added-tax records for at least six years, and anti-money-laundering records for five years. The ceiling: the European rule that you delete personal data once you no longer need it. Where they clash, the specific Maltese law that orders you to keep something wins, because keeping it is then a legal duty.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?: Count three clocks, and they do not line up. Seventy-two hours to tell the privacy regulator about a personal data breach. Twenty-four hours to send a first warning about a serious cyber incident, then seventy-two hours for the full report and one month for the final one. Phone and internet companies have their own separate duty to report straight away.High confidence
What's the trap?: Five things that are not in the summary. A child in Malta is thirteen, not sixteen. Health and biometric research needs the regulator's written permission before you start, not just a risk assessment. Copying someone's identity card is restricted. Leaking a client secret can be a crime, not a fine. And the gaming regulator can keep personal data forever, in a law that says so out loud.High confidence
What's about to change?: Three dated changes. On 1 January 2027 a new law stops insurers, banks and employers asking about a cancer diagnosis once enough time has passed since treatment. On 12 January 2027 European rules make cloud switching and data export fees free. And Malta's artificial intelligence rules started phasing in on 2 August 2026, with the privacy regulator now policing the market.High confidence
Hardest industry wall: All industries — Att dwar il-Kumpaniji (Kap. 386), artikolu 163

The eight framework questions answered for each selected country
Question	SloveniaChecked 18 August 2026	MaltaChecked 18 August 2026
The three ratings	Depends on your industry Work: High Enforcement: Active	Depends on your industry Work: Medium Enforcement: Active
In one paragraph	Slovenia has no general rule that data must stay in the country. It runs on the European rulebook: send data abroad once you have the right paperwork. Three things break that. The company running the new national health record system may not store data outside Slovenia. Government bodies may cloud only their least sensitive data. And working-time records must sit at the Slovenian workplace.	Malta runs on the European rulebook. Data may go abroad once the right paperwork is in place, and there is no general rule that it must stay on the island. Two things break that. Online gaming companies must keep their core systems inside Europe. And any Maltese company that keeps its books abroad must still keep a copy of its accounts in Malta.
The catch	The easy answer stops being true in four places. First, health: the state-owned company running the central health information system is forbidden by law from transferring or storing personal data outside Slovenian territory, and every healthcare provider in the country must plug into that system. Second, government: a state administration body may only use a public cloud for the lowest security tiers of information, and only after the ministry approves in writing. Third, employment: the record of working time and the documents behind it must be kept at the employer's registered office or at the place where the worker actually works. Fourth, gambling: only a joint-stock company registered in Slovenia can hold a concession, and its system must be wired into the tax authority's own system. Banking, payments, insurance, securities, telecoms and mapping have no storage-location rule that we could find.	The easy answer stops being true in three places. First, online gaming, which is Malta's biggest regulated industry: a licensed operator's 'key technical setup' — including the player database, the financial database and the control system — must sit in Malta or another European Economic Area country, unless the Malta Gaming Authority approves another location one case at a time. The same operator must also run a live mirror of its essential regulatory data that the Authority can reach at any moment, including physically. Second, company law: if a company keeps its accounting records outside Malta, it must still send to Malta, and keep in Malta, accounts and returns good enough to show the financial position at least every six months. Third, government: the public administration's own cloud policy says cloud services should as a rule be inside the European Union or European Economic Area, and anything classified must go on the government's own cloud. Banking, payments, insurance, securities, health, education and mapping have no storage-location rule that we could find, checked 18 August 2026.
Does this apply to me?	Yes. Slovenia's privacy rules reach a company with no office there. If you offer goods or services to people in Slovenia, or watch what they do online, the European rules apply to you and Slovenia's own privacy act applies alongside them. There is no size or revenue threshold that lets you out. A company with no office anywhere in Europe must appoint a written representative inside Europe.High confidence	Yes. Malta's Data Protection Act reaches a company with no office in Malta if it offers goods or services to people in Malta, or watches their behaviour in Malta. There is no size or revenue threshold. There is no extra Maltese representative to appoint beyond the one the European rules already require of companies based outside Europe.High confidence
Can the data leave the country?	In general yes, with paperwork — Slovenia adds no national storage-location rule of its own on top of the European regime. But four industries break that answer, and one of them is a hard wall. Health is the big one: the state company that runs Slovenia's central health record system is banned outright from storing or sending personal data outside Slovenia, and every healthcare provider must connect to that system. Government cloud, employment records and gambling each carry their own restriction.High confidence	In general, yes. Malta has no law saying personal data must be stored on the island. It follows the European Union rules: send data outside Europe once you have an approved destination or the right contract. Three areas override that. Online gaming is the big one, and it is Malta's flagship industry.High confidence
What do I have to do to send it abroad?	Slovenia uses the European model, and it works like an approved-destinations list with escape hatches. Data may go to a country the European Commission has approved. If the destination is not approved, you can still send data by signing the Commission's standard contract, using approved group-wide rules, or relying on one of a few narrow exceptions. Slovenia adds nothing of its own. The old Slovenian system, where the Information Commissioner had to authorise each export, was scrapped when the current privacy act arrived in January 2023.High confidence	Use the European toolkit. Send data to a country the European Commission has approved, or sign the European standard contract, or use approved group-wide rules. Malta adds nothing on top. Malta's own minister has a power to restrict transfers of named categories of data, but has never used it, so the list of Maltese restrictions is empty today.High confidence
Who enforces this — and are they actually working?	The Information Commissioner, and it is genuinely working. In 2025 it opened 464 inspection cases from complaints plus 102 more from inspection reports, issued 134 enforcement decisions, fined in 89 of them, gave warnings in 45, and handed down what it calls its largest fine since the European rules began. It handled 153 breach reports. It is small: one commissioner and 53 staff at the end of 2025, and it says openly that it does not have enough people. Cybersecurity is enforced separately by a government office set up for the job.High confidence	The Information and Data Protection Commissioner. It is real, staffed and issuing decisions: its public register shows around nineteen decisions published in 2026 and thirty-eight in 2025. The fines are small by European standards — most sit between about 2,000 and 20,000 euros (roughly $2,300 to $23,000). The gaming regulator is the harder one, and it cancels licences.High confidence
How long must I keep it, and when must I delete it?	Both directions, and the floors are long. A patient's medical file must be kept for ten years after the patient dies, and other basic medical records for fifteen years. Records of who touched personal data in a computer system must be kept for two years after the end of the year, and up to five if the risk is high. Working-time records must be kept at the Slovenian workplace. In the other direction the European rule applies: delete personal data once the purpose is spent.High confidence	There is a floor and a ceiling. The floor: company accounting records for ten years, tax and value-added-tax records for at least six years, and anti-money-laundering records for five years. The ceiling: the European rule that you delete personal data once you no longer need it. Where they clash, the specific Maltese law that orders you to keep something wins, because keeping it is then a legal duty.High confidence
What happens when something goes wrong?	Count three clocks, not one. A personal data breach goes to the Information Commissioner within 72 hours. A serious cyber incident, if you are an essential or important organisation, goes to the government security office immediately and in any case within 24 hours as an early warning, then a full report within 72 hours, then a final report within one month. Telecoms operators have their own duties on top. Missing the 24-hour warning is the most common failure, because it lands while you are still working out what happened.High confidence	Count three clocks, and they do not line up. Seventy-two hours to tell the privacy regulator about a personal data breach. Twenty-four hours to send a first warning about a serious cyber incident, then seventy-two hours for the full report and one month for the final one. Phone and internet companies have their own separate duty to report straight away.High confidence
What's the trap?	Five things that catch people out. A child can consent at 15 in Slovenia, not 16 — one year younger than the European default. Fingerprints and face scans are banned in the private sector unless a law allows them and the Commissioner approves. Every access to a covered database must be logged and the log kept two years. Leaking personal data you got through your job is a crime, not just a fine. And working-time records must physically be at the Slovenian workplace, which no cloud contract fixes.High confidence	Five things that are not in the summary. A child in Malta is thirteen, not sixteen. Health and biometric research needs the regulator's written permission before you start, not just a risk assessment. Copying someone's identity card is restricted. Leaking a client secret can be a crime, not a fine. And the gaming regulator can keep personal data forever, in a law that says so out loud.High confidence
What's about to change?	Two dates in the next twelve months matter most. On 19 December 2026 the cybersecurity duties bite for organisations newly captured by Slovenia's 2025 Information Security Act — registration, security measures and the incident clocks. On 12 January 2027 the European Data Act bans all cloud switching and data export fees. Behind both sits the roll-out of the national health record system, whose ban on storing data outside Slovenia is already law but whose timetable we could not pin down.Medium confidence	Three dated changes. On 1 January 2027 a new law stops insurers, banks and employers asking about a cancer diagnosis once enough time has passed since treatment. On 12 January 2027 European rules make cloud switching and data export fees free. And Malta's artificial intelligence rules started phasing in on 2 August 2026, with the privacy regulator now policing the market.High confidence
Hardest industry wall	Health and social care — Zakon o digitalizaciji zdravstva (ZDigZ) All industries — Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o evidencah na področju dela in socialne varnosti (ZEPDSV-A)	All industries — Att dwar il-Kumpaniji (Kap. 386), artikolu 163