Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) has executed its inaugural penalty under the General Data Protection Law (LGPD). This enforcement action comes nearly three years after the LGPD was initially implemented.
Details of the Enforcement Action
On July 6, the ANPD issued a warning and levied two fines against Telekall Infoservice, a small-scale telecommunications firm. The fines, each amounting to R$ 7200 ($1483), were imposed following an investigation into the company’s practices. The probe revealed that Telekall offered extensive messaging services, including SMS and WhatsApp capabilities, capable of dispatching up to 2 million messages daily to targeted groups. The company was scrutinized for allegedly offering bulk messaging services via WhatsApp, specifically to political figures.
Further, the ANPD’s ruling highlighted Telekall’s failure to designate a data protection officer, lack of a legitimate legal basis for processing personal data, and non-cooperation during the investigation. In its defense, Telekall maintained that while it had contacted prospective clients, no services were actually sold. The firm also stated that it had temporarily halted its bulk messaging operations to align with data protection regulations.
Financial Implications and Compliance Window
Telekall has been granted a 20-day business period to pay the fines. Should the company choose not to contest the decision, it will be eligible for a 25% reduction in the total fine, bringing it down to R$ 10800 ($2225). Failure to comply with the decision could result in the Federal Prosecutor’s Office taking over the case.
Brazil’s data protection law, enacted in September 2020 and approved two years earlier in 2018, included financial penalties starting from August 2021. This timeline was intended to give companies sufficient time to adapt to the new regulations, which were further detailed and clarified in February 2023.
Nycolle de Araújo Soares, a lawyer and CEO at Lara Martins Advogados and president of the Goiano Institute of Digital Law, commented on the significance of a small company being the first to receive a data protection fine. According to Soares, this was unexpected as it was anticipated that larger companies with more frequent LGPD violations would be targeted initially. She emphasized that this enforcement action indicates the ANPD’s willingness to apply regulations across businesses of all sizes, underlining the universal importance of data protection compliance.
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