Prosecutors will investigate data leak after Brazilian Report scoop

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Federal prosecutors opened an investigation based on revelations by The Brazilian Report in October 2022 that the private data of millions of citizens was leaked to bank representatives.

On October 22, 2022, The Brazilian Report exposed the leak of private information belonging to at least 3.7 million beneficiaries of the Auxílio Brasil benefit scheme — the government’s flagship cash-transfer program. The data was in the hands of bank representatives for the purposes of actively proposing payroll deduction loans to these individuals during the presidential runoff campaign.

The list of information in banks’ custody includes people’s full address, mobile and home numbers, date of birth, how much they receive in benefits every month, their enrollment number on the government’s NIS welfare database, and their public healthcare ID numbers.

The data on each individual is so extensive and specific that, according to experts, they in all likelihood came from the federal government itself.

After the story broke, the left-wing Socialism and Freedom Party (Psol) asked for a probe. In its reasoning to justify an investigation, the Citizens’ Rights Office mentioned that “the protection of personal data becomes a fundamental right entrenched in the constitution, essential to a dignified life, and demanding its protection by the state.”

Subsequent reports by other media outlets also showed that the information was being used to spread false information that Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who ultimately won the presidential race, would end aid programs.