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An estimated 5-minute read

Google Faces Legal Hurdles Under Brazilian Internet Law

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By Raissa Campagnaro[1]

The Brazilian Federal Prosecution Ministry has brought civil proceedings against Google for flouting its data protection law. The suit challenges Google’s access to the content of emails exchanged by Gmail users on multiple grounds, including Google’s failure to obtain express consent.

In October, 2016, Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor filed a public civil suit against Google, claiming that the search engine had failed to comply with the country’s internet law, the Internet Bill of Rights. The suit argues that during a previous prosecution investigation, through a civil inquiry, Google had made it public that it scans the content of emails exchanged by Gmail users. According to the Federal Prosecutor, this violates Brazilian data protection standards.

The Internet Bill of Rights establishes data protection principles similar to those set up under the EU Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. Under this law, any processing of data must be pursuant to express consent. The law specifically requires that the clause seeking consent be prominently displayed and easy to identify amongst other terms of the contract. The law also recognises a right to not have one’s data transferred to third parties without consent and a right to be informed about the specific purposes of the personal data collection, usage, storage, treatment and protection.

When asked about its compliance with the legislation, Google submitted that it analyses the email messages so it can improve consumers’ user experience by filtering the messages for unwanted content, spam, or other kind of malware. It also submitted that the scanning of messages is used to offer products and advertisement for the user and to classify emails into various categories such as ‘social’ ‘promotions’ etc. Finally, Google has contended that the scanning of emails is  consented to by the user at the time of signing up, by agreeing to the privacy policy within Gmail’s terms of service.

However, the Federal Prosecution Ministry considers these practices to be ‘profiling’ – a consequence of personal data aggregation that allows the creation of users’ profiles based on their behaviour, online habits and preferences. These can be used to predict their future actions and decisions. Profiling is frequently used for behavioural advertisements in which aggregated personal data is transferred to other ISPs, who use it to direct ads, products and services determined by the person’s past online activity. According to the Federal Prosecutor, this not only violates people’s right to privacy, especially their informational self-determination right, but also interferes with a consumer’s freedom of choice.

Several scholars and researchers have also opposed profiling and behavioural advertising, arguing that it has severe negative consequences. These include (i) denial of credit or loan concessions; (ii) offering different health insurance deals based on a person’s medical history or the nature of activities they engage in; and (iii) offers with adaptive pricing, based on a variety of criteria that involve some level of discrimination. This is problematic because online profiles are limited. A person’s life is based on several aspects apart from the online information which is collected and aggregated. As a result, personal data aggregation, processing and analysis can lead to an incomplete or incorrect picture of an individual, leading to wrongful interventions in their life. Even if the profile is a complete reflection of a person’s life, the choice to have one’s data collected and used for determined purposes must always be the users’.

The suit alleges that Google’s practices are not in consonance with the legal requirement of seeking express consent, including through prominent display within a policy. It suggests that Google be required to take specific consent in order to access the content of emails.

The case also  challenges the fact that Google’s privacy policy does not allow consumers to withdraw consent. This violates consumers’ control over their data. Further, it is also argued that consent should be sought afresh every time Google changes its privacy policy. The lack of clear and precise information around how data is processed is another issue that has been pointed out in the case, violating the right of Gmail users to information regarding the usage of their data.

To substantiate its case, the Federal Prosecutor is relying on an Italian case in which Google’s data processing activities had been challenged. The ruling was based on Italy’s Data Privacy Code, which establishes data protection guarantees such as i) fair and lawful processing of data; ii) specific, explicit and legitimate purposes and use of data; iii) processing to not be excessive in relation to the purposes for which it is collected or subsequently processed; and iv) that the data must only be kept for the amount of time truly necessary. In addition, the law stipulates that a data subject must receive notice about how their data will be processed, allowing them to make an informed decision. Furthermore, the Italian code also requires consent to be express and documented in writing.

In 2014, Garante’s (i.e. the Italian Data Privacy Authority, furthermore “the Authority”) decision held that Google had failed to comply with some requirements under the Italian legislation. Firstly, the information given by Google around how data processing was carried out was considered insufficient, as it was too general. Secondly, the consent format given through the privacy policy agreement was also held to be too broad. The Authority held that consent should be prior and specific to the data treatment. Although the decision condemned the company’s practices, it did not establish any guidelines for Google to adopt in this regard.

Through the present suit, the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor seeks (i) suspension of Google’s email content analysis, that is, scanning of emails of Gmail users where express consent has not been received ; (ii) an obligation to obtain express and consent from users before scanning or analysing the content of emails and (iii) ensuring the possibility of consent withdrawal. The suit seeks an order directing Google to change its privacy policy to ensure consent is informed and particular to content analysis.

This case demonstrates a new aspect of data protection concern. Apart from the most common cases over data breach situations, where the damage is usually too late or too massive to repair, the Brazilian and the Italian cases are great examples of proactive measures taken to minimise  future risks. Further, the importance of a legal framework that utilises data protection principles to guarantee consumers’ right to privacy is well recognised. Now, it appears that these rules are starting to be more effectively enforced and, in consequence, the right to privacy can be observed in practice.

[1] Raissa is a law student from Brazil with an interest in internet law and policy. Raissa has been interning with the civil liberties team at CCG for the past month.

Author: shuchitathapar
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