Brazilian pilot explores letting citizens control – and sell – their personal data
A pilot project in Brazil will explore enabling citizens to control and monetise their personal data.
Dataprev, a state-owned technology company linked to Brazil’s Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services, has partnered with DrumWave, a technology company focused on personal data management and monetisation.
The project includes the creation of a ‘data savings account’ via a digital wallet that will allow individuals to manage their personal data. The organisations say the proposal seeks to transform data into economic assets, with potential for citizens to monetise their data, including through contributing to artificial intelligence large language models (LLMs) where data would serve as “investment capital”.
“The solution will allow citizens to accumulate value on their data, generate income through compound interest, and invest directly in the development of technological solutions, promoting digital and financial inclusion on a large scale,” a news release said.
“This is a relevant step towards digital equity, by recognising the intrinsic value of each citizen’s data,” commented Rodrigo Assumpção, president of Dataprev. “We believe that this initiative can lay the foundation for a data ownership model that promotes financial inclusion and redefines the digital economy from a fairer perspective.”
Read more: Opinion: How the UK could turn ‘citizen data’ into a national asset
Legal changes
The project follows moves to establish a legal framework for citizens to manage their personal data. A draft bill introduced to the Brazilian Parliament in 2023 aims to create a ‘Brazilian ecosystem of data monetisation’. It proposes changes to existing laws that would recognise people’s property rights over their data and enable them to receive financial compensation for the use of their data by organisations. It is currently being evaluated in Congress.
Brittany Kaiser, chief evangelist and board advisor at DrumWave and president of the Own Your Data Foundation, called the project “a correction in the historical imbalance of the digital economy, which aims to promote economic justice and strengthen digital human rights in the 21st century”.
At the end of the pilot, Dataprev and DrumWave will present the results of the project and recommendations on its expansion.
When asked for further details, a spokesperson said that the project is in an “embryonic stage” but confirmed that the focus of the pilot will be on data related to payroll loans. These loans are a type of credit where repayments are automatically deducted from the borrower’s pay.
Read more: Report calls for ‘state transformation’ to achieve Brazil’s sustainable growth goals
Concerns
Some concerns have been raised about the proposal.
“We will be asking half of the country that doesn’t know how to read to decide if their data can be bought for a certain fee,” Pedro Bastos, a researcher at Data Privacy Brazil, told the Rest of World publication. “People in situations of vulnerability will say yes, and this might be used against them.”
The most recent Functional Literacy Indicator by the Paulo Montenegro Institute and the non-profit association Ação Educativa found that 29% of Brazilian adults aged 15 to 64 are classified as functionally illiterate and 36% have only elementary literacy.
Read more: Brazil’s new climate investment platform hailed as ‘an example to the world’
About Sarah Wray
Sarah has over 15 years’ experience as a journalist with a specialism in the public sector and topics such as digitalisation and climate action. Sarah was formerly the editor of Cities Today and Smart Cities World, as well as a specialist video-based publication in the aerospace sector. She has also written for publications including Smart Cities Dive, Mobile Europe, Mobile World Live and Computer Weekly.
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