Data from Below #1
Highlights from Brazil and the Global South.
Dear reader,
Welcome to the 1st edition of Data from Below, Data Privacy Brasil’s official international newsletter. Here you’ll find the main updates regarding data protection, digital rights and artificial intelligence regulation with a perspective from the Global South.
Highlights:
Release of a new report about Digital Identity and Public Digital Infrastructure
Regulation Won’t Hold Back AI Innovation in Brazil
Job Opening: Digital Librarian
The Global South Alliance welcomes 13 new members
AI Explainability: How to Avoid Rubber-Stamping Recommendations
Digital Identity and Public Digital Infrastructure: Recommendations for a Fair Information Architecture
By: Pedro Martins
The fact
In recent months, the agenda of building and developing public digital infrastructure (PDI) has gained even more momentum and become intertwined with the geopolitical shifts of 2025, as states grow increasingly concerned with their sovereignty, their capacity to operate essential public services in pursuit of inclusion and sustainable development, and the development of new data-driven technologies such as AI systems.
In Brazil, the National Digital Government Strategy and the construction of the National Data Infrastructure are moving full steam ahead. A foundational layer for any digital infrastructure is the digital identification system — after all, for people to use and interact with the system, their identity must be uniquely and securely verifiable. The main Brazilian initiative in this area is one you likely already know and frequently use: gov.br.
An inherent element of the PDI concept — and one that determines its success in generating public value — is the development of a legal and normative framework that upholds fundamental rights and sets clear guidelines for a fair information ecosystem. Aiming to deepen this discussion and propose pathways, Data Privacy Brasil is launching the report Digital Identity and Public Digital Infrastructure: Recommendations for a Fair Information Architecture.
Why it matters?
Building a digital identity system involves a series of choices — technical, normative, legal, and technological. As explored in a previous 2022 study, digital identity systems carry risks such as misuse of personal data and the exclusion of individuals from access to public policies.
When a digital identity system is integrated into a public digital infrastructure to scale its benefits and potential, the risks also scale. Excluding someone from this system or lacking clear parameters for data use and sharing can lead to more severe and complex consequences, since PDI necessarily involves more complex data flows and multiple actors operating in an open and interoperable ecosystem.
Our view
After examining how the concepts and components of digital identity relate to PDI in the guide “The Infrastructure of Identity: The Flows of a Digital Identity as a PDI Application”, we now delve deeper into interpreting the normative values of personal data protection as guiding principles for developing digital identity within the PDI. Key recommendations from our report include:
Implementing data protection and accountability mechanisms is essential to ensure public value, trust, and security in the PDI;
The principle of informational separation of powers must apply to identity systems in the PDI;
Consent is one legal basis for data processing within the PDI, but it is not the only nor always the most appropriate;
Active participation from various sectors of society is fundamental for developing a fair and citizen-centered PDI, ensuring identity systems serve the public interest.
What’s next?
Access the full research report “Digital Identity and Public Digital Infrastructure: Recommendations for a Fair Information Architecture” for our in-depth analysis of the topic.
This report is the final publication of the research project “Citizen Architectures in Digital Identity”, which mapped the intersection between digital identity and data protection in the context of developing a PDI. Check out the other publications and project activities!
Institutional Updates
In June, Data Privacy Brasil participated in two major events discussing the regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Brazil. The first was a public hearing held by the Special Commission on Artificial Intelligence of the Chamber of Deputies on models for AI regulation. The second was a panel on the socioeconomic effects of AI at the 35th edition of FebrabanTech, a major event on innovation in the financial sector. In both, we delivered the same message: regulation and innovation of AI are not opposite.
We are seeking a motivated and organized Digital Librarian to manage and develop a growing digital library dedicated to supporting digital rights organizations from civil society and academic institutions primarily in the Global South. As the Digital Librarian, you will play a vital role in maintaining and improving a digital library that facilitates access to essential resources for researchers, advocates, and organizations in the digital rights space. This role requires someone with a strong understanding of the digital rights landscape, outstanding organizational skills, and a proactive approach to managing partner relationships and resources. Deadline for applications is July 11th.
The Global South Alliance is a coalition formed in 2022 with the mission of unifying NGOs dedicated to the promotion of mutual learning and the advancement of digital rights with a perspective from the Global South. The Alliance opened membership applications in February, during RightsCon in Taipei. According to the membership criteria, eligible organizations should be non-profit entities, think tanks, or collectives based in or led by individuals from the Global South, with a proven commitment to digital rights, aligned with values of solidarity and democracy, and able to attend monthly online meetings. Following a collective process of selection, the members of the Global South Alliance reached the final list of 13 new members, from Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
For the fourth year in a row, MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) have assembled an international panel of AI experts that includes academics and practitioners to help us understand how responsible artificial intelligence (RAI) is being implemented across organizations worldwide. The first article of this year focused on accountability for general-purpose AI producers. Bruno Bioni, co-director of Data Privacy Brasil, was one of the experts interviewed.
*Disclaimer: This newsletter was produced with the support of ChatGPT for translation and text review.