In a few weeks, Brazil’s new data protection law called “Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados” (LGPD) is expected to take effect. It will govern how companies collect, use, disclose and process people’s personal data in Brazil. We believe everyone has a fundamental right to privacy. So we’d like to take the opportunity that LGPD presents to explain how we’re enhancing our products and tools to meet the data protection requirements of LGPD and how it will impact people. 

Permission Requests 

Starting today, we will ask people in Brazil who use Facebook for permission to use certain types of data, such as data with special protections under LGPD. We’re also adding a new Brazil privacy notice to our data policies on Facebook and Instagram that include more context about LGPD and how people can exercise their rights under the law.

We are not requiring any new action from businesses who advertise with us when LGPD goes into effect. On July 1, 2020, we launched our new global Data Processing Terms to help businesses everywhere manage their data processing compliance when using our business tools. We’ve also updated our Business Tools Terms and our Custom Audiences Terms to make them easier for everyone to understand. 

Putting LGPD Data Protection Principles into Practice

LGPD is another example of governments around the world giving people more rights when it comes to their information and setting rules around what companies can do with people’s data. We support this global effort to protect people’s privacy online and set clear rules for how companies manage people’s data. These laws include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, which was implemented in 2018, and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which took effect in the US earlier this year.  

These laws focus on protecting data and offering people more transparency and control when it comes to their information. We continue to build solutions to help people manage their privacy through our products, tools and partnerships. For example, we are constantly expanding the categories of information that are available using our Access Your Information and Download Your Information tools so that people can easily view and download data about how they’ve used our services.

Additionally, we provide several tools to help you understand why you’re seeing certain ads and posts and give you more control over what you see. For example, Ad Preferences allow you to personalize the ads you see by showing you topics that we believe will interest you and letting you remove the ones that don’t. Why am I seeing this ad shows you why certain ads are being shown to you and Why am I seeing this post gives you more information about how posts are ranked based on your past interactions. Off-Facebook Activity provides a summary of the information that businesses and organizations share with us about your interactions with them, such as visiting their apps or websites, and gives you the option to disconnect that activity from your account. We also provide tools such as Privacy Checkup to guide you through important privacy settings on Facebook. 

Continuing Our Work With Policymakers and Experts

We know the best solutions for protecting data and helping you manage your privacy are born out of collaboration. That’s why we’ve been working with regulators, experts and people who use our services to develop better policies and tools. For example, we recently published a white paper that highlights the need for companies to communicate more transparently about privacy information and to collaborate with policymakers and other experts. In the coming months, we will host virtual consultations with experts in Brazil and around the world to explore the ideas outlined in the paper and surface new solutions to better communicate with people about their privacy.

We believe in offering strong data protections to people in Brazil and around the world. We continue working to communicate clearly about the role data plays in our products and services and offer everyone who uses our apps more controls to manage their information and experience.