On December 10, the Special Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved the Proposed Constitutional Amendment (PEC) which includes personal data protection as an individual guarantee of citizens in the Constitution. The proposal, which has already been passed in the Senate, is ready to be voted in the Lower House Plenary.

The text includes personal data protection as a constitutional guarantee. It also inserts the creation of a new regulatory body into the Constitution, which will be an “independent entity, forming part of the indirect federal public administration, subject to a special autarchic regime.”

When justifying the adoption of the text, the rapporteur Orlando Silva (Partido Comunista do Brasil – opposition), declared that personal data protection should be seen as a fundamental right of every person and gave as an example the European Union, which included the “personal data protection” in its Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The committee welcomed the approval of the proposal and highlighted the support given by deputies from different parties and ideological currents. The bill is expected to be debated in plenary session in the next few days.