Brazil's LGPD To Take Effect In September

• Published date: 02 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Privacy, Data Protection, Privacy Protection
• Law Firm: Hall Booth Smith, P.C.
• Author: Mr Charles R. Langhorne IV

In a wild turn of events over a few days at the end of August, Brazil's Lei Geral de Proteç'o de Dados Pessoais ("LGPD") will take effect on September 16, 2020, barring a presidential veto or another act of the Brazilian legislature.

What is the LGPD?

The LGPD is Brazil's national data privacy legislation that is very similar to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). It imposes data protection obligations on businesses that process the personal data of Brazilian citizens. Similar to the GDPR, the LGPD provides an extremely broad definition for "personal data," a trend we expect to continue as countries continue to pass data privacy legislation. Even if the GDPR or the LGPD do not apply to your company's operations, this is something to take note of because it is only a matter of time before it becomes applicable to a country in which you do business.

When Was It Supposed To Take Effect?

The LGPD was originally supposed to take effect on August 15, 2020. We have been following the COVID-19 impact to the LGPD since June when Brazil's president issued an Executive Order, Provisional Measure No. 959/2020, delaying the effective date until May 3, 2021.

What Happened At The End of August?

On August 25, 2020, Brazil's House of Representatives approved a modified version of Provisional Measure No. 959/2020 which would have made the LGPD effective as of December 31, 2020.

On August 26, 2020, Brazil's Senate approved Conversion Bill No. 34/2020 which originated from...