Asymmetries and Power
Nature and information: contesting political instrumentalization of the LGPD in environmental regulation
Objective: To analyze decisions by public bodies in which data related to environmental issues were not disclosed, using General Law for the Protection of Personal Data's (LGPD) to justify the lack of transparency. The project fights LGPD's political instrumentalization and produce interpretation models that combine the right to environmental public interest information and the protection of personal data.
Duration: nov. 2022 - dez. 2024
Status: Em Andamento
Supporter(s): Instituto Clima e Sociedade - ICS
Description
The project “Nature and information: contesting the political instrumentalization of the LGPD in environmental regulation” consists of promoting legal studies that analyze the misinterpretation and application of the LGPD in conflicting situations regarding freedom of information, privacy and data protection. From legal analysis and reconstruction of three paradigmatic cases, it seeks to produce knowledge that can help decision-makers and civil society in the correct application of the LGPD in environmental regulation contexts.
Throughout 2022, many cases present LGPD arguments to restrain to public data related to environmental regulation. Some examples are the concealment of data on rural landowners with land registered in the Rural Environmental Registry (Cadastro Ambiental Rural), closing of information on cattle transport, among others.
Misapplication of the LGPD cannot serve as a subterfuge to weaken FOIA requests and undermine public transparency. Coordinated work is imperative to prevent the LGPD from being used to restrict access to public information, especially those relating to environmental regulation and inspection, which are of notorious collective interest.
These information are essential to garantee social control and improve monitoring of potential environmental violations. Doing so, the preservation of protected lands and traditional communities, such as indigenous and quilombola that live in these territories.