LGPD – Brazil’s upcoming Data Protection Law

The National Congress of Brazil passed in August 2018 a new General Data Protection Law (“Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados” or “LGPD”). This law is slated to come into effect in August 2020. Prior to the LGPD, data protection in Brazil was primarily enforced via a various collection of legal frameworks, including the country’s Civil Rights Framework for the Internet (Internet Act) and Consumer Protection Code.

The new legislation creates a completely new general framework for the use of personal data processed on individuals in Brazil, regardless of where the data processor is located. Brazil also established its own Data Protection Authority, in order to enforce the guidance. Although the Data Protection Authority will initially be tied to the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the DPA will become autonomous in the long term, in about two years.

Like the GDPR, the new framework has an extraterritorial application, which means that the law will apply to any individual or organization, private or public that processes or collects personal data in Brazil, regardless of where the Processor is based. The LGPD does not apply to data processing for strictly personal, academic, artistic and journalistic purposes.

Although the LGPD is largely influenced by the GDPR, both frameworks also differ from each other a lot. For instance, both frameworks define personal data differently. The LGPD’s definition is broad and covers any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person. Furthermore, the LGPD does not permit cross-border transfers based on the controller’s legitimate interest. In the GDPR, the deadline for data breach notification is 72 hours; in the LGPD, the deadline is loosely defined, to name just a few.