THE INVALIDITY OF THE CONSENT GIVEN BY THE HOLDER FOR FINANCIAL CONSIDERATION - ANALYSIS OF THE TOOLS FOR HUMANITY (TFH) CASE

Abstract

The article analyzes the legal validity of the consent obtained through financial consideration for the processing of sensitive personal data, in light of the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data (Law No. 13,709/2018), focusing on the case of the company Tools for Humanity (TfH), responsible for the Worldcoin project. The research adopts a qualitative approach, based on a literature review, normative analysis and concrete case study, problematizing the ethical-legal limits of the autonomy of the will in contexts of socioeconomic vulnerability. Consent, although provided for as a legal basis by the LGPD, requires requirements of freedom, information, specificity, and clarity. However, obtaining it through financial incentives can compromise the holder's freedom of expression, especially when aimed at populations in situations of socioeconomic inequality. The collection of biometric data, such as the iris and face, in exchange for tokens convertible into cryptocurrencies, highlights risks to informational self-determination, revealing a possible imbalance in the relationship between controller and data subject. It is concluded that consent conditioned to economic advantages lacks legal validity when it compromises the decision-making freedom of the holder, and is not a legitimate basis for the processing of sensitive data.