Questioning the right to privacy and data protection in light of biometric surveillance

Abstract

One of the elements of technological acceleration in digital capitalism is the emphasis on data collection – in particular, personal data – as raw material for the operation of computational algorithms. In the midst of this phenomenon, there is a growing collection of information regarding human-body characteristics, gathered by biometric technologies, such as facial recognition. In this context, this article seeks to analyze the phenomenon of the digitalization of the human body, using the theoretical framework of surveillance studies and biopolitics. There is a noticeable objectification of the body by biometric technologies, as a phenomenon that serves the interests of the State, such as public security, as well as the logic of the market for the commodification of personal information. With this theoretical path, a brief analysis of two judicial cases involving the São Paulo subway is carried out, which consisted of the intrusive use of facial recognition of its users for advertising and public security purposes. The examination of these cases makes it possible to demonstrate the need for legal instruments to protect personal data, as well as the limits of a purely legal protection based on privacy.