Mercado Libre

Mercado Libre’s Chicas en Tecnología (Girls in Technology) contributes to the digital inclusivity of women and girls in Argentina. The programme provides mentors for participants and connects them with Mercado Libre teams so they can experience working in a technological environment. The company also clearly discloses how it distributes the economic value it generates among its stakeholders.

The company has two programmes that focus on enhancing intermediate and technical digital skills. The first targets microentrepreneurs in several Latin American countries to help them gain the skills needed to manage an online business. The second teaches coding to young graduates in Uruguay.

Mercado Libre follows industry best practice by reporting data breaches. In its privacy policy, it lists the types of third parties with whom it shares user information and, in some cases, their names.

The company supports technology entrepreneurs. In addition to its venture capital investments, Mercado Libre sponsors competitions that award prizes to innovative start‑ups across Latin America and mentors social entrepreneurs. The company also follows best practice by disclosing the locations of its research and development facilities and the number of women on its technical staff.

No evidence could be found that Mercado Libre has programmes that contribute to universal and affordable access to digital technologies. Similarly, no evidence could be found relating to how the company accommodates the needs of customers and employees with disabilities. Mercado Libre should disclose how it distributes value among stakeholders in each of its markets. It could also consider a study of its indirect economic impacts.

Mercado Libre has an opportunity to support initiatives that provide digital literacy training and improve school connectivity. The company could also enhance transparency about its existing programmes. For example, it could disclose its contribution to the programmes and their impact on beneficiaries.

Mercado Libre lags behind other companies in disclosing how it handles responsibility for cybersecurity at a high level, and how it monitors and responds to security incidents. It could strengthen its privacy policy by including more information about how customers can obtain a copy of the data the company holds about them, in a structured format. Mercado Libre could also report on government requests for user information. Finally, no evidence could be found of commitment or initiatives in relation to child online safety.

Mercado Libre could make a stronger commitment to open source and standards by sharing public data sets or partnering with universities on technology- and sustainability-related research. The company could also more clearly demonstrate how it applies ethical considerations in research and development.