In July, the Brazilian Department of Consumer Protection and
Defence ('DPDC') fined the telecom provider Oi 3.5 million
reals ($1.59 million) for recording and selling its subscriber
browser data. The fine is the first enforcement action to be
brought by the DPDC since the Internet law (
Marco Civil da Internet) came into force in June.
The DPDC investigated allegations that Oi had entered into an
agreement with British online advertising firm Phorm Inc. to
develop an Internet activity monitoring program called
'Navegador'. The investigation confirmed that this program
was in use and actively collected the browsing data of Oi's
broadband customers.
The browsing data was collected and stored in a database of user
profiles, with the stated purpose of improving the browsing
experience. Oi then sold this data to behavioural advertising
companies without having obtained the consent of its customers.
