COVID-19: Brazilian Senate postpones to January 2021 the entry into force of the General Data Protection Law
On Friday, April 3rd, 2020, the Brazilian Senate approved the Bill of Law No. 1,179/2020, which postpones the entry into force of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), currently scheduled to occur in August of this year.
The Bill of Law regulates several legal impacts in Brazil during the national emergency declared in view of the novel coronavirus. Among other measures, the text pushes the entry into force of the LGPD to January 1, 2021.
In addition, the Bill provides that fines and other administrative penalties set forth in the Law will only be enforceable as of August 1st, 2021. That applies only to administrative penalties to be enforced by the Brazilian Data Protection Authority. Therefore, lawsuits, class actions and other legal resources may be initiated from the beginning of next year, with administrative sanctions taking place only as of August, 2021.
After the Senate’s approval, the matter follows to the House of Representatives for voting, and, if approved, for sanctioning of the President. We will keep you informed of future developments.
