Insider

Bolsonaro can’t use data protection to hide slave labor

Operation to crack down on slave labor. Photo: Ascom/MPT-BA
Operation to crack down on slave labor. Photo: Ascom/MPT-BA

The Federal Comptroller’s Office has ruled that the government is not allowed to use the General Data Protection Law (LGPD) as justification for concealing the so-called “dirty list” of companies using slave labor. The list is Brazil’s most effective mechanism for preventing the use of slave labor by companies, though the government says it can’t reveal sensitive data of private organizations.

The Federal Comptroller responded to an information request by journalist Fábio Teixeira of the Thomson Reuters Foundation. After the Economy Ministry blocked access to a report concerning a transportation company accused of using slave labor, Mr. Teixeira appealed to higher courts, claiming the initial decision essentially censored a public document.