A função social das big techs: perspectivas do titular de dados brasileiro em um contexto de capitalismo de vigilância e europeização normativa

Abstract

The present research aims to explore the perspectives of data subjects in the face of the contemporary logic of data exploitation established by big tech companies and the international diffusion phenomenon of data regulation laws originating from the European Union. The question is whether it is possible to consider the social function of the company, applied to big tech companies, as a tool for emancipatory data legislation that better corresponds to the Brazilian reality, based on the national legal system. To do so, the phenomenological approach method and bibliographic research are employed to form a holistic understanding of various sociological, economic, and legal phenomena analyzed. The procedural methods used in the research are comparative and monographic. Initially, a chronological study is undertaken on technological developments leading to the current state of data exploitation, contrasting more hopeful understandings of the digital economy that emerged at the time of the internet's advent with contemporary theorists critical of the exploitation regime instituted by big tech companies and the depoliticization of the technological debate. The concept of surveillance capitalism and the evolution of regulations on privacy and data protection over the years are defined. In a second phase, the phenomenon of the international diffusion of norms through the theory of the Brussels Effect is explored, noting the power of the European Union to exert influence de facto and de jure in other jurisdictions. Subsequently, the occurrence of the Brussels Effect in Brazil is examined, comparing the two main data protection laws addressed in this work: the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Brazilian General Data Protection Law (LGPD). Given Brazil's subordinate role in both technological and legislative aspects, and considering that the reality of the national data subject is shaped by foreign interests, a general context of data colonialism is recognized, with national law reflecting external market motivations and therefore being insufficient to address the Brazilian reality. From a decolonial and post-abyssal perspective, the aim is to build an autochthonous alternative for legal protection based on an integrated reading of the legal system. The application of the principle of the social function of the company to big tech companies involves the interpretation of various legal instruments to enforce data subject rights, bringing the discussion of data protection to the collective sphere and better addressing the needs of the Brazilian population.