STF decides that authorities can ask for user data directly from big techs in Brazil – 02/23/2023 – Politics

The ministers of the STF (Federal Supreme Court) decided, by unanimous vote, that Brazilian authorities can request confidential user data directly from representatives in the country of large technology companies, such as Facebook and Google.

In a judgment finalized this Thursday afternoon (23), the ministers analyzed whether these requests for information should be made through an international cooperation called MLAT (acronym in English for mutual legal assistance treaty); or if they could be addressed directly to the representatives of the companies in Brazil.

The ministers understood that both options are possible. In practice, direct requests to company representatives increase the authorities’ ability to obtain the desired data, since international cooperation takes longer to process and big tech headquarters abroad have the means to delay or even not respond to requests.

Minister Luís Roberto Barroso declared himself suspicious because he already advocated for a technology company in the process regarding the cooperation agreement, before becoming a minister. The rapporteur for the case was Minister Gilmar Mendes.

The process was presented to the STF by Assespro (Federation of Associations of Information Technology Companies), which at the time hired the law firm of retired minister Ayres Britto to defend the cause to the court of which he was a member.

For the association, an affiliated company in Brazil cannot be asked to comply with court orders that should be made to firms in the United States or other countries, through an international legal cooperation agreement.

These companies, says the request, “have their own right to the adversary principle and full defense, within the scope of a peculiar ‘due legal process'”.

The PGR (Attorney General’s Office) argued that restrictions on the ability of Brazilian authorities to directly obtain data and communications collected by companies that provide services in Brazil would generate “immense damage to ongoing investigations and criminal actions already final and unappealable”.

The Ministry of Justice has already classified requests via MLAT as “unsatisfactory” for obtaining this type of information in order to support criminal investigations.

Investigators of cases involving former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and his supporters stated that a decision by the STF for the use of MLAT could have a direct impact on cases because the use of international cooperation facilitates non-compliance or causes delay in sending data.

The inquiry into anti-democratic acts, for example, managed to access Facebook data without the need for international cooperation in an unprecedented way. The platform is part of the process that will be analyzed by the STF.