Newsletter | Data from Below #5 |

Data from Below #5

Highlights from Brazil and the Global South

Dear reader,

Welcome to the 5th edition of Data from Below, Data Privacy Brasil’s official international newsletter.

Highlights:

• Article | Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability and the Collective Right to Access Information
• Event | Operationalising AI Safety
• Advocacy | Paths for AI Regulation in Brazil

Data Privacy Brasil participates in the Global DPI Summit with the Global South Alliance

Jaqueline Pigatto, Louise Karczeski, and Luize Ribeiro

Between November 4 and 6, Cape Town in South Africa will host the Global DPI Summit, a summit focused on debating the issue of Digital Public Infrastructures (DPIs). The purpose of the event is to bring together actors from different sectors and areas of knowledge to debate not only the “ideal” of DPIs, but also their applications and implementation in various contexts and realities. The event is organized by UN agencies (the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations Development Program, and the Office for Emerging and Digital Technologies), as well as Co-Develop, a global non-profit organization that works with countries on digital transformation actions. Data Privacy Brasil will be present at the event, along with partners from the Global South Alliance.

This topic is of particular interest to countries in the Global South. Investment in the digital transformation of the state promises to facilitate and improve public policies, as well as direct access to citizens through digital platforms, but it faces challenges such as access, use, and sharing of personal data, governance systems, and digital literacy. In addition, a growing point of attention has been public-private partnerships in the construction of these IPDs, and the role of the private sector in defining what is, in fact, “public.” The monopoly of digital services by a few foreign companies, access to data, and the definition of the use of these tools raise issues of sovereignty and autonomy, criticisms that are being debated among various organizations in the Global South, whose dependence on these services is greater.

The issue of IPDs has been constantly debated within the Global South Alliance, given its critical importance in these countries. The topic has already been addressed with joint contributions from members, such as those made to the Global Digital Compact process. In addition, several of the 26 organizations that make up the Alliance have conducted research on IPDs. For this reason, a working group on the Summit was created. Part of the group’s activities was to gather materials produced by organizations on the topic of IPDs, which can be found in the Alliance’s Digital Library. Member participation in the event also involves the organization of two sessions: “Media Narratives for DPI” by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa (CIPESA) and “Verifiable Credentials in Action: Building Cross-Border Trust through Digital Public Infrastructure” by the Aapti Institute.

Overall, eight organizations that are part of the Global South Alliance will participate in the Global DPI Summit: Aapti Institute, Data Privacy Brasil, InternetLab, CIPESA, Centre for Communication Governance, Paradigm Initiative, Research ICT Africa, and Tech Global Institute. We consider the participation of these organizations and the entire preparatory process to be fundamental to ensuring that the global debate on IPDs goes beyond technical discussions, incorporating the social, political, and regional dimensions of their impact and focusing on the generation of public value. The active participation of voices from the Global South, in this sense, is a step toward ensuring that the development of IPDs is accountable to the people it aims to serve, centralizing rights, strengthening transparency and accountability, and questioning the concentration of power in private actors.

Institutional Updates

• Article | Artificial Intelligence, Sustainability and the Collective Right to Access Information

There are major questions concerning the development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) when assessing its socio-environmental impacts throughout its entire life cycle. This discussion opens the first thematic axis of the AI with Rights project — dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of Artificial Intelligence regulation in Brazil that is centered on citizenship and rights.

• Event | Operationalising AI Safety

Rafael Zanatta, Co-Director at Data Privacy Brasil, is participating in the Operationalising AI Safety event, part of the official preparatory agenda for the India AI Impact Summit 2026.

Zanatta will join the launch of the report “Exploring AISIs for the Global South”, organized by the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi, on November 6.

• Advocacy | Paths for AI Regulation in Brazil

In recent months, Data Privacy Brasil brought together its research team to reflect on possible changes to Bill 2338/23, which sets out the principles, rights, and governance rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems in Brazil.

Access the contribution document at the link above (available in Portuguese only).

*Disclaimer: This newsletter was produced with the support of ChatGPT for translation and text review.