On August 14, the president of Brazil signed the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD) into law. It will become effective on Valentine’s Day 2020. The elements of the new law are similar to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

If entities have become compliant with GDPR, they are well on their way to compliance with the new Brazilian Privacy law. Like the GDPR, the LGPD:

• Applies to organizations headquartered in Brazil and to those who process personal data in Brazil.
• Includes a broad concept of personal data.
• Provides for special treatment of sensitive personal data.
• Defines obligations according to whether an entity is a controller or a processor.
• Requires a legal basis to collect and process personal data.
• Provides for data subject rights.
• Requires mandatory data breach notification.
• Provides for mechanisms for cross border transfers to countries that are not considered to have an adequate level of protection.
• Requires the appointment of a Data Protection Officer.
• Requires a Data Protection Impact Assessment when processing activities create risks to data subjects.
• Requires a record or data processing activities.
• Requires the establishment of appropriate technical, security and administrative measures to protect personal data.
• Includes administrative sanctions for non-compliance including notices and fines of up to 2 percent of a business’ gross sales in the country during its last fiscal year or up to $50 million reais ($12.9 million USD) per violation.

An independent public authority responsible for the supervision of the law and its enforcement is yet to be created.

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