Personal data protection as a decisive factor in business development

The concern with personal data protection is not a new trend. Imagine a young woman, years ago, when receives a letter by mail, just after opening the envelope, tears it up to prevent others from knowing her name and address. It is a personal data protection concern. Well, some of us still do the same.

All over the place, people transposed the limits of the traditional paper reality, living more and more in a virtual world, with unheard roles and extent. In order to open the door of this new universe in most of the cases the “key” is the disclosing of personal data. And, sometimes, we turned the key without being aware of its real purpose and addressees.

Gradually, we realized the “keys” were opening doors we would not want to open, and we often didn’t even know about. In response, several countries began to regulate the personal data protection. European Union, Canada, United States (especially the state of California), Argentina, Uruguay, among others, enacted laws aiming to protect the individuals in the use by third parties of their personal data. In Brazil, the answer came with the General Data Protection Law - LGPD (Law No. 13,709 / 2018), which will come into force next August 2020.

After all, what are the changes brought by the new Law?

The LGPD is applicable to all legal entities and individuals that, in any way, process personal data within the Brazilian territory. The processing of personal data, under the terms of Article 5, X, of the Law means “any operation carrying out personal data, such as those relating to: collecting, production, receipt, classification, use, access, reproduction, transmission, distribution, processing, storage, deletion, evaluation or control of information, modification, communication, transfer, diffusion or extraction ”. Therefore, individuals and companies that handle personal data must be complaint with the new Law by August 15.

To be in compliance with the LGPD means, in summary: to frame all activities and processes involving the processing of personal data and to classify the data (sensitive or not); identifying possible risks, points of adjustment; structuring and implementing policies and procedures for mitigating said risks and ensure the right of the individuals in accessing their personal data. Adding, whenever new products or services involve personal data processing, the concern with LGPD must take part since its conception.

At a first glance, it may seem complex, but the history of enforcement of similar rules in other countries shows a smoothly implementation by companies and, in some cases, they are already reaping positive effects in their businesses.

Once transparent data protection policies and procedures have been adopted, there is an important cutting down on data breach vulnerabilities and brings the possibility of promptly responses to the demands of data subjects. These factors have a direct impact on access to new consumers and markets, business reputation and enhancing results.

The good implementation of personal data protection policies brings discipline, information and, legal security to those involved in any kind of personal data processing. Therefore, the whole team acts in a structured way, adding individual and mainly institutional value to the company.

In this context, in addition to complying with legal requirements, companies should face the personal data protection as an important asset for their business. Transparent personal data protection programs are already a market advantage, not only in relation to final consumers, but also in B2B operations.

In several production chains, anchor companies already demand the implementation of personal data protection policies as a requirement for registering new suppliers and service providers. Likewise, companies and entrepreneurs looking for opportunities abroad should be aware, as in several countries the performance of personal data protection policies is also a determining factor.

Finally, it is necessary to leave the era of “tearing envelopes” for a time when the personal data protection must be a decisive factor in business development.