Brazil Approves Data Protection as a Fundamental Right

The Brazilian Senate has approved a proposal to add protection of data in digital platforms to the list of fundamental rights and individual citizen guarantees set out in the country’s constitution, reports ZDNet. “According to senator Simone Tebet, rapporteur of the proposal, which will be voted on by the lower house of the National Congress, the federal government should be responsible for legislation. She noted that adding the topic to the constitution demonstrates that central government recognises the importance of the topic.” “State and society should be entitled, as a general rule, to knowledge about each other, as long as there is a real need. Other than that, data privacy should be preserved as much as possible,” Tebet said. Brazil’s general data protection law was due to go live in February 2020 but a stopgap measure signed by former president Michel Temer just before leaving office in January 2019 has extended the deadline to August next year. Earlier this year, the National Authority for Personal Data Protection has also been created, with responsibilities including frameworks on how to handle information and guide organisations on how to adhere to the rules. The authority will also be responsible for monitoring and applying fines to non-compliant organisations. “The new developments emerge among new public concerns around digital privacy sparked by a series of reports published by news website, the Intercept.” Read more