Tech Roundup, Apr. 25 | How prepared are NGOs for new data protection rules?

You’re reading The Brazilian Report’s weekly tech roundup, a digest of the most important news on technology and innovation in Brazil. This week’s topics: Brazilian NGOs still unprepared for the upcoming data protection law, how Covid-19 spurred e-commerce’s self-regulation in Brazil, and how broadcasted “live” concerts became a legal matter in the country.  

Are Brazilian NGOs ready to secure data protection? It doesn’t look like it

A recent report shows that Brazilian third-sector organizations are lagging behind the requisite compliance measures mandated by the country’s General Data Protection Law. And while the Brazilian Congress could delay the law’s enactment to January 2021, the Covid-19 pandemic may have already turned the lack of resources into a crisis, according to a data expert that spoke to The Brazilian Report.   

Running against time. The survey, conducted by data scientist and social projects manager Jérémie Dron, has already communicated with 95 organizations in March 2020. By that time, 60 percent of organizations informed they needed at least 6 months to comply with the legislation – currently set to be enforced by August 2020 – but only 19 percent of interviewees knew about the LGPD and were taking steps to comply. The low rate of compliance is even more concerning considering that 98 percent of the organizations deal with personal data and 60 percent deal with sensitive information. 

Impacts. While organizations seem to be unprepared, they do however acknowledge how important LGPD is–– 91 percent believe the law shall have at least a moderate impact in the Brazilian third sector. According to Mr. Dron, “LGPD brings demands that may not be so quickly implemented. Therefore, as most of them reckon there will be an impact, it is important to start compliance processes as soon as possible to make sure institutions are ready.”

Roadblocks. Among the biggest challenges faced by organizations to comply, they mention structuring internal processes to handle data (79%), technological support (63%), and team training (62%), according to the research. In an interview with The Brazilian Report, Mr. Dron pointed out that the pandemic poses an even bigger challenge, placing LGPD in the backseat. “Postponing (the law) could allow this picture to improve, but considering the pandemic, I’m not sure...