Article | Expanding the role of Public Defender’s Offices in protecting personal data in Brazil | Asymmetries and Power

Agreement with the Public Defender’s Offices of the States of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo

In September 2020, Data Privacy Brasil signed a 2 (two) year cooperation agreement with the Public Defender’s Offices of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo to train Public Defenders in data protection and to assist in research to formulate programs to comply to the LGPD and data governance within the public defenders. Through the Extension Course offered by the Data Privacy Brazil School, it was intended to empower Public Defenders  to understand the complexity of the data protection legal framework and, thus, to incorporate this knowledge in the protection of the rights of the users  and to comply the institution to the LGPD. The research objective was to analyze the innovations and obstacles faced in the compliance process of the Public Defender’s Offices to the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data, and, especially, the constitution of interdisciplinary groups and committees dedicated to the construction of data governance programs within the institution.