La protección constitucional de los datos personales como manifestación del derecho a la intimidad en el Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: This research analyzed the constitutional protection of personal data as a manifestation of the right to privacy in Ecuador. A qualitative, documentary, and legal approach was employed, utilizing dogmatic, hermeneutic, and jurisprudential methods. The study examined the Constitution of the Republic, the Organic Law on Personal Data Protection, international instruments, and eleven Constitutional Court rulings concerning privacy, informational self-determination, and *habeas data*. The results demonstrated that data protection constitutes an autonomous right, recognizing powers regarding the access, decision-making, rectification, confidentiality, and deletion of personal information. Case law has developed the informational, additive, corrective, confidentiality-related, and cancellation-oriented modalities of *habeas data*; it has eliminated unjustified procedural barriers and clarified the scope of consent and the purpose of data processing. It has also established limits on state interception of communications and implemented enhanced measures to protect sensitive data in digital environments. The study concludes that Ecuador has established a progressively rights-protective standard, although challenges remain regarding artificial intelligence, biometrics, profiling, automated decision-making, and the uniform application of constitutional precedents.