How do I request a phone number list in El Salvador?

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Obtaining a comprehensive list of phone numbers for individuals or businesses in El Salvador, especially for marketing or general outreach, is highly restricted and generally not possible through legal or public means. This is primarily due to privacy laws and telecommunications regulations.

Here's a breakdown of why it's difficult and what limited options might exist for very specific, legitimate purposes:

1. Privacy Laws and Data Protection:

El Salvador has a "Personal Data Protection Law" (Legislative Decree No. 144) that came into effect on November 23, 2024. This law aims to protect el-salvador phone number list personal data, including phone numbers, and governs how it can be collected, stored, and processed. It applies to both public and private entities.

Consent is Key: Under this law, collecting and using personal data, such as phone numbers, typically requires the explicit consent of the individual. This means you cannot simply acquire a list and start contacting people without their prior agreement.
Purpose Limitation: Data collected for one purpose cannot generally be used for another without further consent. This prevents the repurposing of data obtained for a specific transaction into a marketing list, for example.
Data Subject Rights: Individuals have rights over their data, including the right to access, rectify, cancel, and oppose the processing of their information (ARCO-POL rights). This means they can request their numbers be removed from databases.

2. Telecommunication Regulations:

The General Superintendence of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET) regulates the telecommunications sector in El Salvador. They do not maintain or provide public directories of all active phone numbers. Mobile phone numbers, in particular, are considered private information managed by individual carriers (Claro, Tigo, Digicel, Movistar), and these carriers are obligated to protect their subscribers' data.

3. No Public Directories for Mobile Numbers:

Unlike some countries that may have limited public directories for landlines, there is no centralized, publicly accessible directory of all mobile phone numbers in El Salvador. This is a global trend driven by privacy concerns and the highly personalized nature of mobile communication.