State Rep. Renata Souza (PSOL-RJ) has asked the MPF (Federal Public Ministry) to open an investigation into the alleged misuse of the data of millions of Brazilians in consultations conducted through accounts linked to the security forces of the Rio de Janeiro government on Córtex, the massive surveillance platform of the Ministry of Justice.
how Bound The federal government revealed that about 70 million CPF were registered as authors of more than 213 million inquiries about people and vehicles with credentials from the Claudio Castro administration (PL-RJ). The number of documents used represents about a third of the total population of Brazil.
In the presentation to the Attorney General’s Office, the deputy stated that Cortex provides access to sensitive bases, such as vehicles, tax data, assets and movements. “This is a strong indication of the possible mass and secret use of federal data by state agents, which constitutes a serious violation of personal data protection, the LGPD and various federal regulations,” says Renata Souza.
The Federal Police have already opened an investigation to assess whether crimes of entering false data into an information system, violating functional confidentiality, and invading a computer were committed. The investigation into the police case, in addition to the review conducted by the Ministry of Justice, also targets consultations involving political persons.
The representative also requests that MPF contact the Ministry of Justice to obtain data on consultations conducted on accounts linked to the government of Rio de Janeiro, as well as to identify public officials and the chain of command that allowed or allowed the “improper use.”
Renata Souza also requests that the ANPD (National Data Protection Authority) be contacted by the MPF.
The representative also presented a draft law to establish a state policy for transparency and data protection. The text stipulates that public bodies and entities linked to the Rio government must publish annual reports containing a map of the personal data flows carried out during this period, records of security incidents and mitigation measures adopted, among other points.
The Cortex platform requires an access key and then the CPF of the person who performed the search for the record to remain. The Rio government has two keys: one from the Prime Minister and one from the Government Secretariat – initially the National Front and the Ministry considered that both were from the Prime Minister, but the Rio de Janeiro Police and Guanabara Palace had already reported that the key under the greatest suspicion was from Segov.
The use of Cortex was regulated in 2021, under the government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL). The platform can only be used by members of agencies that sign an agreement with the federal government to obtain real-time information collected by cameras and other databases, especially about people and vehicle license plates.
The federal investigation is taking place at a time when the public security issue pits Lula’s government against some rulers. This difference was reflected in the approval, in the House of Representatives, of the amended version of the anti-cult bill, a measure that was praised by Claudio Castro (Liberal Party) and represented a defeat for Planalto.
One of the platform’s services is electronic fencing, which allows you to search for data about “moving targets,” in addition to issuing alerts about “targets with criminal signs.”
In a note, the Rio government secretariat confirmed that it was notified by the Prime Minister on November 10 about the investigation. The department, headed by former federal representative Andre Mora, said that it had begun collecting information to respond to the federal agencies, in addition to requesting the opening of an investigation by the civil police.
Segov also stated that it reached out to the Department of Justice, in May, to rescind the previous ban on the Cortex account. The ministry said: “The ministry reported during the meeting that several roads were blocked because they were not considered related to the security forces, in addition to reporting a violation in the system, without providing details about the incident.”
In the Cortex access credentials that the Prime Minister says are his own, the ministry’s audit discovered 7.63 million searches conducted by 30.5 thousand different users in about a year, also since September 2024.
In a memo, the Prime Minister stated that there had been “no abnormal use” of Cortex on his account, that only “military police officers in essential activities” could use the system and that he was in dialogue with the federal government to reactivate access.