Public Civil Action IDEC vs. ViaQuatro – IRIS’ opinion
16 de September de 2019
The present case is a Public Civil Action (ACP) in which the plaintiffs and defendant are, respectively, the Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection – IDEC – and the concessionaire of the São Paulo S.A. subway line 4 – ViaQuatro. The purpose is to terminate the activities of the Digital Interactive Doors system, implemented by the latter in its activities along the subway line that operates, as well as to convict ViaQuatro for collective damages, related to the violation of the rights of users who use the subway network’s system.
This request is based on ViaQuatro’s violation of consumer and personal data legislation, identified by IDEC due to the operation of this system, which, through cameras and software, has the functionality to recognize the presence of human faces and identify the the number of people who transit in its area, as well as detect their emotions, gender and age. In the complaint, the following abusive practices are reported: i) there was no clear and adequate information to consumers regarding the operation of Digital Interactive Doors; ii) the passengers’ right to choose their data collection was not respected by this system; and iii) not even its operation is detailed, which may involve facial recognition and individualized treatment of data to form consumption profiles.
