Paper short abstract:

This paper presents the argument that Data Protection Law is a relevant factor for social, economic and political development. It then explores the consequences of the lack of a data protection framework in Brazil in three sectors: public WiFi in smart cities, digital agriculture and digital health.

Paper long abstract:

Much like some other developing countries, Brazil is yet to enact specific legislation for data protection. This is not to say that Data Protection Law does not exist in Brazil, but that there is no single comprehensive law regulating the subject. Rather, handling of data and rights of users are roughly regulated by many sparse principles of Privacy Law and general statutes, such as a Civil Rights Framework for the Internet, a Civil Code and a Consumer Protection Code. For this reason, issues that are quintessential to discussing Data Protection Law, such as user consent for data treatment, anonymization requirements, international transfer of data and the limits of behavioral digital advertising remain largely unregulated. We introduce the idea that the absence of a proper data protection framework in Brazil hinders users' awareness of their basic rights concerning their personal data, as well as private players' ability of understanding the extent to which they are legally allowed to economically exploit such data. Firstly, we argue that this legal void constitutes an obstacle for social, economic and political development, since it also obstructs government's capacity of devising both public and public-private policies based on data that equally consider legitimacy, fairness and efficiency. Then, in order to demonstrate this argument, we present case studies on three sectors in Brazil that have been hindered by the lack of a proper data protection framework (public WiFi policies in smart cities, drones in digital agriculture and digital health). Finally, we draw some conclusions on the study.