MAIN CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE DATA PROTECTION LAW

Abstract

The article analyzes the main challenges related to personal data protection in the context of accelerated digitalization, focusing on how the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD), inspired by the European GDPR, seeks to safeguard fundamental rights such as privacy and informational self-determination. It adopts a qualitative approach to discuss the legal and technical foundations of data protection, detailing the LGPD’s core principles (purpose, adequacy, necessity, transparency, security) and the legal bases for processing, as well as the historical and global background of data collection and regulation. The authors highlight practical obstacles to effective implementation, including the lack of organizational culture and training, the complexity of data governance, and the need for robust cybersecurity measures and “privacy by design/by default” practices, framed against emblematic global incidents like Cambridge Analytica, Yahoo and SolarWinds that illustrate the potential scale of harm from data breaches. The article also emphasizes the central role of Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) in overseeing compliance, applying sanctions and consolidating legal certainty, concluding that continuous improvement of policies, technical standards and international cooperation is essential to build safer and more trustworthy digital environments for data subjects.