Argentina AI Regulation Overview

Overview

Argentina's regulatory framework for artificial intelligence is characterized by a flexible, soft-law approach supported by executive policy strategies, inter-agency coordination mechanisms, sector-specific administrative regulations, and judicial directives. Rather than enacting a single omnibus AI statute, the Argentine National Executive has established foundational guidance through national digital strategies and administrative frameworks. Key strategic milestones include Decree 996/2018 (Agenda Digital 2030) and the Plan Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ArgenIA), which set national priorities around digital transformation, public sector modernization, talent development, and ethical technology adoption.

Governance at the federal level is operationalized through specialized administrative instruments issued by executive bodies and regulatory agencies. Disposición 2/2023 of the Subsecretariat of Information Technologies introduced non-binding recommendations for trustworthy AI in public sector projects, while Decisión Administrativa 750/2023 created the Interministerial AI Table within the Office of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers to unify national AI policy design. Additionally, enforcement authorities like the Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública (AAIP) under Resolution 161/2023 have integrated AI oversight into personal data protection and public transparency mandates, establishing registries and advisory councils to oversee automated decision-making systems.

Complementing administrative directives, targeted sectoral applications have been established across security, customs, and the administration of justice. The Ministry of Security created the Unit for AI Applied to Security (UIAAS) under Resolution 710/2024, while the General Directorate of Customs (DGA/AFIP) introduced an AI Innovation Committee via Resolution 16/2024. Simultaneously, the federal judiciary and the Ministerio Público Fiscal (Resolución PGN 14/25) have instituted specific operational protocols and pilot implementations, such as Virtual Assistant integration into legal case management. Broader statutory regimes, including risk-based classifications and criminal code deepfake amendments, remain pending before the National Congress.

Regulatory Approach

Argentina currently maintains a hybrid regulatory approach that combines horizontal soft-law directives with binding sector-specific administrative rules. Horizontal guidelines, such as Disposición 2/2023, adopt a human-centric, lifecycle risk management approach emphasizing data minimization, transparency, explainability, robust testing, and mandatory human supervision. These guidelines encourage public entities to implement multi-disciplinary oversight and conduct preventive impact assessments prior to deploying algorithmic systems, without imposing market-wide statutory restrictions on private AI developers.

In contrast, administrative bodies and judicial institutions enforce binding operational rules within their operational domains. Public agencies using generative AI or automated tools must ensure human-in-the-loop validation, strict confidentiality, and prohibition of uploading non-public or personal data into uncertified third-party tools. Regulatory instruments issued by bodies such as the AAIP (Resolution 161/2023) utilize existing statutory powers under Personal Data Protection Law No. 25.326 and Access to Public Information Law No. 27.275 to require algorithmic documentation, audit trails, and privacy-by-design standards.

While active statutory bills in Congress (such as Expedientes 3003-D-2024, 2505-D-2023, and Senate Expediente 1747/23) propose formal risk-tiered regulatory models similar to the European Union AI Act—classifying systems into unacceptable, high, limited, and low risk categories—these proposals remain under review. Consequently, current national regulation prioritizes administrative governance, ethical principles, and functional safeguards over pre-market statutory authorization for private commercial systems.

Key AI Legislation

Argentina's primary AI regulatory architecture consists of executive decrees, administrative resolutions, institutional directives, and legislative proposals:

• Decree 996/2018 (Agenda Digital 2030): National digital policy establishing legal modernization, connectivity, digital government, and cybersecurity goals across the public administration.
• Plan Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ArgenIA, 2019): National AI strategy document outlining six strategic axes including talent, data governance, high-performance computing, R&D, sectoral adoption, and ethical guidelines.
• Resolución 90/2021 (Secretaría de Asuntos Estratégicos): Created the AI Program within the National Directorate of Knowledge Management to coordinate talent development, academic partnerships, and loan-funded innovation initiatives.
• Disposición 2/2023 (Subsecretaría de Tecnologías de la Información): Approved the "Recommendations for Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence," providing lifecycle guidance on ethics, risk assessment, data governance, and human oversight for public sector AI projects.
• Decisión Administrativa 750/2023 (modified by DA 899/2024): Established the Interministerial AI Table under the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers to coordinate transversal national AI policy across executive ministries.
• Resolución 161/2023 (Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública): Created the Program for Transparency and Personal Data Protection in the Use of AI, establishing an AI Observatory and Multidisciplinary Advisory Council.
• Resolución 16/2024 (Dirección General de Aduanas): Created the AI Innovation Committee within customs administration to coordinate AI data analytics and risk detection in trade operations.
• Resolución 710/2024 (Ministerio de Seguridad): Created the Unit for AI Applied to Security (UIAAS) to perform crime detection, predictive analytics, biometric facial comparison, and cyber-patrolling.
• Resolución PGN 14/25 & PGN 64/2026 (Ministerio Público Fiscal): Established the MPF AI Program and mandatory institutional guidelines for AI usage in prosecutorial investigations and administrative workflows.
• Resolución 1486/2025 (Consejo de la Magistratura / Poder Judicial de la Nación): Approved the Virtual Assistant pilot project (Lex100) with human fallback, logging, and confidentiality constraints.
• Pending Legislative Bills: Expediente 3003-D-2024 (responsible AI regime with INTI oversight), Expediente 3900-D-2024 (Federal AI Observatory), Expediente 7225-D-2024 (Criminal Code amendments for AI deepfakes), Expediente 2505-D-2023 (comprehensive AI framework), Expediente 2504-D-2023 (AI in education), and Senate Expediente 1747/23 (risk-based AI regulation).

Governance & Enforcement Bodies

Governance of artificial intelligence in Argentina is distributed across several executive secretariats, independent agencies, and judicial organs. The Jefatura de Gabinete de Ministros, through the Secretariat of Innovation, Science and Technology, leads policy coordination via the Interministerial AI Table established by Decisión Administrativa 750/2023. This body brings together representatives from ministries including Defense, Security, Economy, Health, Labor, and Foreign Affairs to formulate cohesive national executive AI strategy and promote alignment across public agencies.

Data protection and algorithmic transparency enforcement are centralized in the Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública (AAIP). Operating as the enforcement authority for Personal Data Protection Law No. 25.326 and Access to Public Information Law No. 27.275, the AAIP manages the AI Transparency Program under Resolution 161/2023. The agency holds authority to conduct privacy audits, investigate algorithmic data breaches, publish privacy-by-design guidelines, register automated decision systems, and engage civil society through its Multidisciplinary Advisory Council and AI Observatory.

Specialized operational enforcement and sector governance are maintained by administrative and judicial entities within their designated statutory mandates. The Ministry of Security operates the UIAAS (Resolution 710/2024) under the Directorate of Cybercrime, while the General Directorate of Customs (DGA/AFIP) directs customs innovation under Resolution 16/2024. Within the justice sector, the Consejo de la Magistratura de la Nación and the Procuración General de la Nación (Resolución PGN 14/25) manage technological integration, human-in-the-loop verification, and internal administrative oversight for judicial workflows.

Penalties & Enforcement

Enforcement mechanisms and penalties for non-compliance with AI-related rules depend on the governing legal framework and institutional context. For data protection violations arising from AI deployment, the AAIP exercises statutory enforcement powers under Personal Data Protection Law No. 25.326. The agency is authorized to initiate administrative investigations, conduct inspections, issue compliance orders, and impose statutory administrative fines or sanctions against public and private data controllers failing to adhere to privacy and consent obligations.

Within the public administration and judicial branches, non-compliance with binding operational guidelines—such as unauthorized input of confidential case data into uncertified generative AI systems—triggers administrative and disciplinary measures. Public agents and judicial staff are subject to internal disciplinary proceedings, suspension of tool access, and administrative corrective actions under applicable employment and public service statutes. Pending legislative bills propose significantly expanded sanction regimes: Expediente 3003-D-2024 contemplates administrative fines scaled in Argentinos Oro up to 1,000, suspension or cancellation of registry authorization, and strict civil liability, while Expediente 7225-D-2024 proposes Criminal Code prison sentences ranging from 1 to 6 years for non-consensual AI sexual deepfakes involving adults and up to 12 years for aggravated child exploitation offenses.

Data Protection Framework

Data protection forms the legal cornerstone of AI governance in Argentina, anchored by Personal Data Protection Law No. 25.326 and supervised by the AAIP. Standard privacy obligations—including lawful basis, purpose limitation, data minimization, and informed consent—apply directly to the collection, processing, and training datasets utilized by artificial intelligence systems. The AAIP's Resolution 161/2023 explicitly links data protection principles to algorithmic decision-making, requiring privacy impact assessments, model documentation, and mechanisms to prevent algorithmic bias or unlawful discrimination.

Public administrative regulations and provincial guidelines reinforce strict data privacy rules for AI operations. Disposición 2/2023 and provincial administrative frameworks require mandatory anonymization or minimization of personal and sensitive data prior to interacting with external AI tools. Non-institutional or public generative AI tools are strictly prohibited from processing confidential case files, identifiable personal attributes, or biometric data. Furthermore, automated decision systems that produce legal or significant effects on individuals must preserve transparency and enable citizens to seek human review and explanation of automated outcomes.

Sector-Specific Rules

Sectoral adaptation of artificial intelligence is most developed in public security, customs administration, and the judicial system. In public security, Resolution 710/2024 authorizes the UIAAS to utilize AI technologies for crime prevention, predictive analytics based on historical crime data, automated open-source cyber patrols, dark web monitoring, real-time CCTV video analysis, facial recognition comparison, and drone surveillance, subject to cyber-prevention directives and criminal procedure frameworks.

In customs and border operations, Resolution 16/2024 created the DGA AI Innovation Committee to integrate machine learning and data analytics into trade control systems. Drawing on the World Customs Organization's BACUDA capacity-building framework, the committee develops predictive risk detection models to identify trade fraud and optimize customs verification workflows. In the justice sector, regulations such as Resolution 1486/2025 (Poder Judicial de la Nación) and Resolution PGN 14/25 (Ministerio Público Fiscal) deploy AI assistants and analytical tools for case management while establishing mandatory human validation, restricting direct automated adjudications, and ensuring complete human responsibility for legal decisions.

International Alignment

Argentina actively aligns its national AI policies with established international ethical, technical, and governance frameworks. National strategic documents, including ArgenIA and Disposición 2/2023, draw directly from the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence and the UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. Furthermore, Resolution 161/2023 incorporates international standards on algorithmic transparency and explainability into national public sector evaluation tools.

Argentine agencies also participate in international specialized networks and intergovernmental organizations. The General Directorate of Customs aligns its AI analytics initiatives with the World Customs Organization (WCO) BACUDA project. Argentina has formally adhered to the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) and engaged in international cooperation agreements, such as the Ministerio Público Fiscal's cooperation agreement with UNESCO. Additionally, proposed legislative frameworks in the National Congress closely reflect the risk-based tiering model of the European Union AI Act.

Future Developments

Future AI regulation in Argentina will be shaped by the progression of active legislative proposals in the National Congress and the continued implementation of administrative transparency initiatives. Key bills under committee review include Expediente 3003-D-2024, which seeks to establish a national Legal Regime for Responsible AI under the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Industrial (INTI) as enforcement authority, and Expediente 3900-D-2024, proposing the creation of a Federal AI Observatory. Criminal law reforms, specifically Expediente 7225-D-2024, aim to incorporate specific offenses into the Criminal Code to penalize non-consensual AI-generated sexual deepfakes and digital harassment.

On the administrative front, the AAIP continues to expand its registry of automated decision-making systems and refine privacy impact evaluation tools across national public bodies. The Interministerial AI Table (Decisión Administrativa 750/2023) is expected to advance policy proposals for executive adoption, while sectoral entities—including the judicial branch and security forces—continue iterative rollouts of internal AI tools backed by mandatory staff training and ongoing risk monitoring.

Enforcement Bodies

Agency	Mandate	Key Powers	Website
Agencia de Acceso a la Información Pública (AAIP)	Enforces Personal Data Protection Law 25.326, Access to Public Information Law 27.275, and Resolution 161/2023 AI Transparency Program	Supervises AI data processing, conducts audits, registers automated decision systems, investigates data breaches, imposes administrative fines and sanctions
Subsecretaría de Tecnologías de la Información / Secretaría de Innovación, Ciencia y Tecnología	Issues public sector AI recommendations (Disposición 2/2023) and presides over the Interministerial AI Table (Decisión Administrativa 750/2023)	Establishes technical standards, formulates national executive AI strategy, coordinates inter-agency AI adoption and public sector innovation
Dirección de Ciberdelito y Asuntos Cibernéticos / Ministerio de Seguridad	Houses the Unit for AI Applied to Security (UIAAS) under Resolution 710/2024	Executes predictive policing analytics, open-source cyber-patrolling, facial recognition analysis, network threat detection, and surveillance operations
Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA / AFIP)	Houses the AI Innovation Committee under Resolution 16/2024	Proposes and evaluates customs AI tools, designs trade risk detection algorithms, coordinates with WCO BACUDA program
Procuración General de la Nación (Ministerio Público Fiscal)	Manages the MPF AI Program under Resoluciones PGN 14/25 and PGN 64/2026	Issues binding institutional AI guidelines, conducts ex-post internal compliance audits, evaluates investigative AI tools
Consejo de la Magistratura / Poder Judicial de la Nación	Oversees judicial IT deployment including virtual assistants under Resolution 1486/2025	Approves judicial AI implementation pilots, establishes Lex100 technical security controls, sets human fallback protocols