Brazilian mobile operators were charged with misuse of their customers’ data

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The operators Vivo, TIM, Oi, and Claro, were sued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Bahia State for “data leakage” of their customers, proving that there was an improper exchange of their users’ personal information after it was announced by the local prosecutor Joseane Suzart.

According to the lawyer, the matter contributed to the occurrence of fraud and violated the consumer’s privacy, for which reason she seeks to file an injunction to force the operators to comply with local regulations while demanding the incorporation of reinforcement actions for the protection of such information.

It refers to the General Law on Personal Data Protection (Law 13,709/2018), which specifies the treatment that users’ data must receive after unwanted, disturbing, and insistent calls were recorded, as reflected by local media Teletime and Tecnoblog.

The current regulations require operators to request your express consent to process personal data, except in the exceptional cases provided for and, in the event of any irregularity, they are obliged to review it.

And, as reflected in the notes mentioned above, prosecutor Suzart requested information from Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) that would have proven that the operators “have not been acting by the rules for the protection of their users’ personal data”.

In turn, the local press also reflected the response offered by Conexis Brasil Digital, the entity that groups the operators, which warns that they comply with security and data privacy standards.

It refers to the “don’t bother me” program (Não Perturbe). It explains that “as part of the company’s security procedures, the telecommunications, financial, Internet, commerce, and retail sectors launched, in 2020, the #StaySmart campaign, with advice and information for the population on the importance of adopting personal data security precautions”.

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