La protección de datos personales como derecho constitucional autónomo en la jurisprudencia ecuatoriana

The protection of personal data has gained increasing relevance in contemporary constitutional systems due to the advance of information technologies and the massive processing of data in both public and private spheres. In Ecuador, this process has driven a normative and jurisprudential evolution aimed at recognizing personal data protection as an autonomous constitutional right, with its own content and specific mechanisms of protection. This article aims to analyze the recognition and development of this right in the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, distinguishing it from the rights to privacy and intimacy, and examining the main criteria used to delimit its scope, content, and guarantees. The research adopts a qualitative, descriptive, and documentary approach, based on a systematic review of doctrine, legislation, and constitutional court rulings issued between 2021 and 2026. The results show that the Constitutional Court has consolidated personal data protection as an independent fundamental right, centered on informational self-determination and on the control of the processing of personal information. Likewise, habeas data is identified as the appropriate jurisdictional guarantee for its effective protection, applicable against both the State and private actors. However, the study also reveals the persistence of challenges related to the practical application of the right, the lack of uniform criteria, and institutional effectiveness, highlighting the need to strengthen judicial protection and the culture of data protection in the context of the digital society.