Consumers in Brazil are largely oblivious of the country’s data security laws and do not challenge the company’s personal data processing policies, recent research has been identified.
The survey conducted by the Brazilian credit intelligence firm Boa Vista with more than 500 customers between August and September 2020 reveals that more than 70% of those surveyed do not know what the General Data Privacy Laws are.
The overwhelming majority of customers polled (90 percent) believe that their personal information is not adequately handled by the organizations demanding it, whilst 77 percent voiced concern about the potential fraud of their data. Of the Brazilian customers polled, 40% said they were victims of theft.
On the other hand, 53 percent of the Brazilian consumers surveyed said that they do not often take steps to protect their privacy until reminding businesses of their personal details. Although 88 percent of respondents said that they do not feel safe telling details such as their identification number for taxpayers, 55 percent did not question businesses when asked for such personal information.
Brazil’s data security laws were sanctioned by President Jair Bolsonaro on 18 September, after almost a month of confusion about the exact date of the rules. The Board of Directors of the agency responsible for the implementation of the Legislation, the National Data Protection Regulator, was formed at the end of October.
A survey undertaken by the Brazilian Association of Software Companies (ABES) in collaboration with EY shortly after the implementation of the rules showed that most Brazilian companies already wanted to conform to the rules. A subsequent analysis by ABES and EY showed that the technology industry was better off, but 56 percent of the businesses in the sector also wanted to comply with the current regulations.
