G20 Proposals to Advance Digital Data Protection

On the second day of the G20 Digital Economy Working Group meeting in São Luís, Maranhão, strategies for safe internet usage, with a focus on data protection, were discussed. The seminar highlighted the need for multisectoral collaboration and the strengthening of media literacy education.

Privacy rights and data protection were key topics at the G20 Digital Economy Working Group meeting. Since Monday (10), delegates from G20 countries, experts, researchers, representatives from the Brazilian government, and invited international organizations have gathered in São Luís, Maranhão, to discuss strategies for enabling global populations to safely use the internet. It was stressed that countering disinformation and ensuring digital protection are necessary. The consensus is that fostering critical media literacy can create a safer and more reliable online environment, where citizens are better equipped to protect their personal information and navigate the digital space consciously.

Arthur Pereira Sabbat, director at Brasil’s National Data Protection Authority (Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados/ANPD) under the Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Ministério da Justiça e Segurança Pública/MJSP), stated that Brasil has made significant progress. He noted that personal data protection is a cross-cutting theme in all working groups and that topics like artificial intelligence and media literacy are of great global interest. "We are fostering a rich, constructive debate that can contribute to the development of effective public policies in the digital economy and digital inclusion fields. Data protection is a matter of interest to everyone, not just Brazilians," Sabbat said.

Multisectoral participation was a notable feature of Wednesday's (12) seminar. The diversity included engagement groups from the G20 itself. Civil society was represented by Civil20 (C20), Think Tanks by Think20 (T20), the business sector by Business20 (B20), and gender issues were addressed by Women20 (W20), focusing on women within the G20.

The multisectoral approach is considered crucial to informing the intergovernmental process, which is the focus of the deliberations. Including diverse perspectives ensures a broader and more inclusive understanding of data protection issues, aligning with the needs and realities of different sectors and countries. From this perspective, the seminar not only emphasized the importance of safe internet navigation but also highlighted the necessity for collaboration among various stakeholders to address global challenges in this area, including the regulation of digital platforms.

João Brant, secretary of Digital Policies at the Brazilian Presidency’s Social Communications Secretariat (Secretaria de Comunicação Social/SECOM/PR), emphasized the Federal Government's commitment to combining short- and medium-term actions. These actions include transparency measures on government policies, countering disinformation, improving media education, promoting scientific production, and regulating platforms. Brant noted that Brasil's recent experiences in countering disinformation position the country advantageously to lead on this issue among major global economies. "Brasil has examples to showcase, and this G20 meeting will advance discussions on ensuring information integrity—determining which measures countries should adopt to counter disinformation and hate speech. Society's right to receive reliable information must be guaranteed, and the G20 countries are discussing the best paths forward here," Brant stated.

The Digital Economy Working Group is led by the Ministry of Communications (Ministério das Comunicações/MCom) in collaboration with other ministries, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ministério das Relações Exteriores/MRE); the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (Ministério da Gestão e da Inovação em Serviços Públicos/MGISP); the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação/MCTI), and SECOM. The G20 event in São Luís closes on Thursday (13).

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