The Digital Government Law


The Digital Government Law


On Tuesday, March 30, Law No. 14,129 of March 29, 2021 (“Law No. 14,129/2021”) was published in the Brazilian Official Gazette (“DOU”), which provides for principles, rules and instruments for the Digital Government and the increase of the efficiency of the public administration through the reduction of bureaucracy, innovation, digital transformation, and citizen participation. Its issuance results from a Bill of 2017, which, since its beginning, intended to meet the demand of the society in order to improve the efficiency of the public administration with the use of technological resources, aiming to reduce bureaucratic obstacles and social inequalities.

Referring to the digitalization of the public administration and the digital provision of public services - Digital Government - said Law specifies, in the head provision of its article 5, that the “public administration will use digital solutions for the management of its final and administrative policies and for the processing of electronic administrative proceedings”, in addition to establishing that the digital provision of public services must take place through technologies widely accessible to the population, including low-income population or those residing in rural and isolated areas, preferably through self-service. 

The Digital Government has as essential components (i) the National Public Service Base, which will gather information on the provision of public services in each federative unit; (ii) the User Service Letters, mentioned in Law No. 13,460/2017; and (iii) the Digital Government Platforms, necessary instruments for the offer and digital provision of public services, which shall have as functionalities at least a digital tool of request of service and monitoring of the delivery of said services, as well as a panel for the monitoring of their performance.

The provisions of Law No. 14,129/2021 are applicable (i) to the bodies of the federal direct public administration, covering the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative Branches, including the Federal Accounting Court and the Federal Prosecution Office; (ii) to the entities of the federal indirect public administration, including public companies and government controlled private companies, their subsidiaries and controlled companies, that provide public services, agencies and public foundations; and (iii) to the direct and indirect administrations of the other federative units, under the terms of items (i) and (ii) above, provided that they adopt the determinations of said Law through their own normative acts.

However, it is important to note that the applicability of Law No. 14,129/2021 must occur in line with the provisions of the Access to Information Law (Law No. 12,527/2011) and the General Data Protection Law (Law No. 13,709/2018, “LGPD”), as well as in the National Tax Code (Law No. 5,172/1966, “CTN”), Complementary Law No. 105/2001 (which provides for the confidentiality of the operations of financial institutions) and Law No. 13,460/2017 (which provides for the participation, protection and defense of the rights of users of public services of the public administration). 

By way of standardization of concepts, regarding specifically the LGPD, Law No. 14,129/2021 determines that the terms contained therein are applicable in its scope.

In addition, certain acts of the public administration must also be performed in accordance with other legal provisions, as applicable. This is the case, for example, of the issuance of statements, certificates, diplomas, and corroborating documents with legal validity, whose electronic signature must also meet the requirements of Law No. 14,063/2020. 

There are several principles and guidelines of the Digital Government and efficiency provided for in Law No. 14,129/2021, among which we can highlight (i) the reduction of bureaucracy, modernization, strengthening, and simplification of the relationship between government and society, through digital services, which can also be accessed with the use of mobile devices; (ii) transparency in the performance of public services and the monitoring of their quality; and (iii) integrated action between agencies and entities involved in the provision and control of public services, with the sharing of personal data in a safe environment, when indispensable for the provision of the service, under the terms of the LGPD, and, as applicable, with the transfer of confidentiality, in accordance with the CTN and Complementary Law No. 105/2001.

In addition, the requirement of accordance with the LGPD is also expressed in other parts of the wording of Law No. 14,129/2021, such as when determining, in relation to the aforementioned Digital Government Platforms, the need for tools to control the processing of personal data, clear and easily accessible, which enable the exercise of the rights provided for in the Brazilian legislation on the protection of personal data, it being provided for that the National Data Protection Authority - ANPD may issue complementary rules in this regard. 

It is noted that Law No. 14,129/2021 will come into force at different times, as follows: (i) for the Union, within ninety (90) days after publication in DOU; (ii) for the States and the Federal District, within one hundred and twenty (120) days after publication in DOU; and (iii) for the Municipalities, within one hundred and eighty (180) days after publication in DOU.

The TMT, Privacy, and Data Protection team of Azevedo Sette Advogados is at your disposal for any clarifications that may be necessary on the subject.