Data: Who do they belong to?

* Paulo Milliet Roque, Vice President and Director of Innovation at ABES

The cases of blocking of the instant messaging service WhatsApp and even the arrest of the Facebook executive in Brazil this year brought up, once again, an issue pertinent to today's society that seems to be far from reaching a consensus: security x privacy . On the one hand, we have technology companies whose fundamental part of their service is to guarantee the privacy of their users and on the other hand the laws that govern the country of these same citizens. And yet between these two forces, the society that needs to feel safe when using digital tools and at the same time does not want crimes to be solved or criminals to go unpunished due to the lack of access to information by law enforcement authorities.
 
The Brazilian legislator needs to be aware, however, so that the rules regarding data protection, secrecy and user privacy do not translate into an insurmountable obstacle for companies to offer a series of innovative services - of interest to these same users - whose realization it involves processing and transferring data and metadata.
 
In Brazil, there are laws that deal with the subject, among which the main legal instrument, the Marco Civil da Internet, widely debated and considered a major advance worldwide on this topic. In the current case, in its article 15, it requires an application provider to maintain the respective access records (not the content) in internet applications for six months.
 
Doubts, however, have intensified in recent months. Can the punishment applied to the Facebook executive be considered fair? How far can it be said that the company did not respond to justice adequately? Are international technology players or are they not correct in offering services to the market that imply the transfer or treatment of data, refusing, however, to disclose this data to the authorities of the countries in which they operate?
 
Among the main reasons that companies claim not to change their systems (and this is really worrying) are the duty to protect data, the confidentiality and privacy of users of these applications and the guarantee that private information is not used by governments with extremist regimes, which often do not respect human rights, for example. If the transfer of information occurs in any country, the company may set precedents for other regions to require the same.
 
WhatsApp found a technical solution to solve this legal problem in several countries. It encrypts all messages and does not store them on its servers. The messages are only available on the user's smartphone.
 
The creation of backdoors for use by the authorities - which was the idea of the American government - was ruled out, as cybercriminals could take advantage of these same doors to invade users' privacy and data.
The facilities and personal comfort created by Whatsapp, Google, Waze, and others have a loss of privacy as a counterpart. It is up to users to decide how much of their privacy they are willing to give in order to achieve these facilities.
 
Engaged in opening a forum for discussions on data use, sharing and protection, ABES launched the portal Brazil, Digital Country www.brasilpaisdigital.com.br, focused on information on data protection laws, with news and cases related to the subject in Brazil and the world. The entity also works with a Committee on the Regulatory Framework, which deals with issues related to the internet and brings together several executives from the sector to discuss situations like these.
 
This was a way found by ABES to keep both companies and society up to date with the development of cases such as those that companies in general and Facebook, Whatsapp and Google, among others, have been facing.
 
The moment now requires a debate with the participation of experts in law, companies in the sector, IT specialists and civil society in order to reach a consensus where the internet is an aggregator for evolution and innovation, and not an instrument of litigation. and safe space for crime. 

* Civil engineer graduated from the Polytechnic School of USP, Paulo Milliet Roque is one of the founding members of ABES (Brazilian Association of Software Companies). Founding partner of several companies, such as Alcoolbras, Brasoft, Prisma, Brasoftware, Allen, Divertire and Digiforte, the executive has solid experience in international negotiation with technology companies, having made agreements with more than 100 companies in several countries (USA, United Kingdom) United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Taiwan, China, among others). Currently, Paulo Roque holds the position of vice president and director of Innovation at ABES, and director of Digiforte.         
 
 
About ABES

ABES, the Brazilian Association of Software Companies, is the most representative entity in the sector with around 1,600 associated or associated companies, distributed in 23 Brazilian states and in the Federal District, responsible for generating more than 120 thousand direct jobs and annual revenue US$ 20 billion per year.
The companies associated with ABES represent 86% of the turnover of the software development and commercialization segment in Brazil and 33% of the total turnover of the IT sector, equivalent in 2015 to US$ 60 billion of sales of software, IT services and hardware.               
Since its foundation, on September 9, 1986, the entity has exercised the mission of sectorial representation in the legislative and tax areas, in proposing and guiding policies aimed at strengthening the value chain of the Brazilian Software and Services Industry - IBSS, in defense intellectual property and combating piracy of national or international software and in supporting initiatives to promote research, development, innovation and the development of national software. Access the ABES Portal - www.abes.org.br or talk to our Relationship Center: (11) 2161-2833.