The Federal Supreme Court (STF) began to judge today (28) the Direct Action of Constitutionality (ADC) 51, a process that deals with the control of data from internet providers located abroad. 
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2017, involves decisions by Brazilian judges that determine that internet companies based abroad, but which have branches in Brazil, provide data to assist in criminal investigations.
The first day of the trial was destined to the beginning of the arguments of the parties. Starting tomorrow (29), the vote for the rapporteur, Minister Gilmar Mendes, will begin.
In the action, the Federation of Associations of Information Technology Companies (Assespro-Nacional), which represents the interests of Brazilian subsidiaries of companies such as Facebook, seeks to have the mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) between Brazil and the United States, ratified by Decree 3,810/2001. The agreement provides for a series of procedures for requesting information between the two countries.
The entity maintains that the Brazilian Justice could not request data that are in the US directly from branches of US companies in Brazil, but only through the procedures provided for in the MLAT, otherwise the treaty would be breached.
One of the motivations for the case to reach the STF was a decision taken in 2016 by a judge from the district of Lagarto (SE), which ordered the arrest of Facebook’s vice president for Latin America, after the company did not provide data to the company. production of evidence in a criminal investigation.
Given the complexity of the case, before reaching the plenary, the matter was still the subject of a public hearing held by the STF in 2020.
