PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA AND RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN THE CONTEXT OF PANDEMICS: AN ANALYSIS OF CONTACT TRACING APPLICATIONS CONSIDERING THE PROPORTIONALITY

Abstract

Several countries are taking exceptional measures to control the high spreading capacity of SARS-CoV-2 virus. In order to ensure efficiency in monitoring compliance with these determinations, countries began to use information technology, including the development of contact tracing applications. However, the use of this technology entails State intervention in the right to privacy, as it implies the processing of personal data, so that its constitutionality is questioned in the context of the Brazilian legal system. In this context, this work aims to identify the legal and constitutional limits in the use of contact tracing applications in a pandemic context by the Brazilian State, taking into consideration the right to privacy and the principle of proportionality. This research applied the deductive method and was based on an exploratory and interdisciplinary analysis, making use of both legal-constitutional dogmatics and technical knowledge of information technology. Thus, it is possible to conclude that contact tracing applications must be built following a decentralized architecture, using a proximity-based approach and secure data transmission and information encryption techniques to facilitate data anonymization.