A utilização de dados manifestamente públicos de redes sociais: limites dos termos de Uso e responsabilidade civil das plataformas digitais

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the subsequent use of manifestly public data made available by social media users for purposes other than those agreed upon in the platforms’ terms of use.

The deductive method is employed through bibliographic and documentary research, based on the analysis of legislation, legal doctrine, case law, and concrete cases, both real and hypothetical, involving the reuse of data obtained from social media platforms.

The topic proves relevant due to the context in which 70.4% of the Brazilian population uses social media, thereby favoring the circulation and appropriation of personal data for non-consented uses. The originality of the research lies in defining the legal boundaries between the availability of data made public by their holders on social media and their subsequent use for purposes different from those established in the terms of use, without express consent.

It is concluded that manifestly public data do not lose their nature as personal data merely because they were voluntarily disclosed by their holders. Thus, although access to such data may be free, their use remains limited by the purposes originally consented to, by the platforms’ terms of use, and by the principles established in the General Data Protection Law.

Improper reuse may give rise to civil liability both for the controller of the social network and for the third party that subsequently processes the data.

The study contributes to distinguishing free access to manifestly public data from their reuse for purposes other than those originally consented to, while also helping to define the duties and responsibilities of data controllers and data processors.