In 2004, over 40 million families are registered in CadÚnico (Unified Registry for Social Programs of the Federal Government). CadÚnico is one of the largest social databases in the world, aggregating personal information, housing conditions, family composition, employment, and income data, among others, for individuals benefiting from social assistance programs provided by the state. At the federal level, 30 programs are supported by the CadÚnico database, including Bolsa Família, Social Electricity Tariff, Gas Assistance, Water for All (Cisterns), Minha Casa Minha Vida (My House My Life), Continuous Cash Benefit (BPC), Senior Citizen Card, Pé-de-Meia, Acredita no Primeiro Passo, and Fee Exemption for Public Service Exams.

Since 2019, InternetLab has focused on research around the social protection programs encompassed by CadÚnico: the Bolsa Família Program and the Emergency Aid. These projects primarily addressed the implications of these programs on beneficiaries’ privacy, considering social markers of difference such as gender, race, and social class. Furthermore, they examined how data practices were related to aspects of justice. For instance, we observed how Bolsa Família practices favored gender-biased social surveillance of female beneficiaries.

In these projects, we identified an increasing implementation of datafication and automation processes for granting benefits related to these social programs.

In light of new questions raised by these projects, InternetLab, with the support of Privacy International and in partnership with the University of St.Gallen, has begun research to analyze automatizated decision-making within the social protection programs fed by CadÚnico and the impact of these processes on social rights in Brazil.