Providing biometric data worries 60% of Brazilians, says survey

A survey by the Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (cgi.br) shows that the proportion of Brazilian companies that store biometric data of their employees or customers, such as fingerprints and facial recognition, has increased. The proportion increased from 24% in 2021 to 30% in 2023. According to the survey, the number of companies that store health data of employees or customers also increased, from 24% to 26% in the period from 2021 to 2023. The same survey indicates that 60% of Brazilians are concerned about providing biometric data.

The results, released this Monday (2) by CGI, are in the 2nd edition of research Privacy and Personal Data Protectionproduced by the Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society (Cetic.br), which interviewed, in 2023, individuals, companies and public organizations.

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The survey also identified an increase in the proportion of organizations that made changes to current contracts to comply with the General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD): between 2021 and 2023, there was growth from 24% to 31% in small companies and from 61% to 67% in large companies.

The economic sectors that, in the same period, implemented the most changes in contracts due to the LGPD were construction (22% to 35%), transport (38% to 42%), accommodation and food (23% to 31%), information and communication (57% to 66%), professional activities (38% to 59%) and services (26% to 46%).

“The research shows that there has been progress in compliance with the LGPD among medium and large companies, including in different economic sectors, but there is room for a greater presence of good personal data protection practices, especially among smaller businesses,” highlighted Cetic.br manager, Alexandre Barbosa.

Concern

According to the survey, providing biometric data is the biggest concern for Brazilian internet users. According to the survey, 32% of users aged 16 or over reported being “very concerned” and another 28% “concerned” about having to provide this type of data – together, the proportions reach 60%.

The study shows that users are most apprehensive about providing biometric data to financial institutions (37% “very concerned” and 36% “concerned”), government agencies (35% and 38%) and public transport (34% and 37%).

“With the increased use of systems based on facial recognition and fingerprints, it is understandable that people are more concerned about providing their biometric data. In this context, it is essential that companies and the government seek to improve their personal data protection and information security strategies when adopting this type of technology,” Barbosa highlighted.

The study used new indicators extracted from research carried out by the Regional Center for Studies for the Development of the Information Society, which interviewed, in December 2023, 2,618 people aged 16 or over; 2,075 companies with ten or more employees, between March and December 2023; 677 federal and state agencies and 4,265 city halls, between July 2023 and February 2024; 4,117 managers of Brazilian health establishments between February and July 2023; 3,004 school managers from August 2023 to April 2024.