INSS pensioner will receive compensation of R$ 2,500 for leaked data

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The Justice determined that the INSS (National Social Security Institute) pay compensation of R$ 2,500 to a pensioner in the interior of São Paulo who had her data leaked and began to be harassed by companies offering payroll-deductible credit.

The pensioner informed in the process that, shortly after getting the death pension from the INSS, in June 2021, she started to receive daily calls and messages through SMS and WhatsApp, from financial institutions.

The decision, by the 12th Panel of Appeal of the Judiciary Section of São Paulo, confirmed what had already been defined by the Federal Special Court in Marília (445 km from SP), and was based on the LGPD (General Data Protection Law), which went into effect in 2021.

According to the TRF-3 (Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region), which serves the states of São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul, this is one of the first decisions of its kind based on the new law.

In her sentence, the reporting federal judge Janaína Rodrigues Valle Gomes used articles of the law to support the decision. In the process, the insured was able to prove that the leaks were the responsibility of the INSS.

“With regard to the public authority, the LGPD establishes that it is prohibited to transfer personal data contained in the database to which it has access to private entities (art. 26, § 1, Law 13.709/2018), without the consent of the insured “, highlighted Janaina.

The pensioner, who asked for compensation for moral damages for the leak of her data, won the case in the first instance, but the INSS appealed, claiming that there was no failure to “guard the information” on the part of the body and that evidence of omission by the institute was lacking. . When analyzing the appeal, however, the rapporteur stated that the illegal leak of data was confirmed.

“The legislation establishes that personal data of natural persons contained in databases must be protected, being used only for legitimate, specific and informed purposes to the data subject, and it is up to the processing agents to use effective security measures capable of preventing unauthorized access by third parties”, says the magistrate.

In addition, the judge understood that there was “absence of control” on the part of the institute, “affronting the right to privacy of its beneficiaries”.

The judge recognized the right to moral damages, considering that the approaches exceeded normality. “Such incessant disorder occurred for at least 15 days and at a difficult time in her life, given the recent loss of her husband and the medical treatment she was undergoing,” she said in the lawsuit.

For the lawyer and columnist of Sheet Rômulo Saraiva, although many judges “alleviate” this data leak that may originate from the INSS, the decision is important, as it brings compensation to those who are harassed by companies after personal information is shared.

“Although the INSS is responsible for generating the data of millions of Brazilians, this does not authorize companies to have access to such information. When data is illegally traded, it is a path of no return, as there is no guarantee, for example, that can fall into the hands of social security fraudsters to carry out scams with greater financial repercussions”, he says.

Sought this Wednesday morning (22), INSS and AGU (Advocacy-General of the Union) did not respond until the publication of this text.

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