The Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumed today (29) the judgment of 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.
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 United States directly from branches of North American companies in Brazil, but only through the procedures provided for in the MLAT, otherwise the treaty would be in breach.
Wishes
The trial began yesterday (28), with the support of the parties, and was resumed with the vote of the rapporteur, Minister Gilmar Mendes.
The minister voted for the constitutionality of the decree, but also admitted the possibility of directly requesting access to third-party data by the Brazilian authorities, as provided for in the Marco Civil da Internet.
In the demonstration, the minister cited data from the Ministry of Justice that show a low rate of effectiveness of requests for legal assistance to breach data confidentiality and obtain information through MLAT. According to Mendes, other types of investigations based on the agreement were 70% successful against 22.5% of requests for data access in the United States.
“It appears that there is a situation of low effectiveness of the MLAT with regard to obtaining electronic data, with severe consequences on the investigation of crimes committed in a virtual environment and on the duty of the Brazilian State and the right of Brazilian citizens to security and the protection of other fundamental rights”, argued the minister.
Then, Minister André Mendonça accompanied the rapporteur. The trial is expected to resume on Wednesday (5).
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.
