Hiring a Private Investigator and the LGPD

The profession of a private or professional investigator was finally regulated through Law 13.432/17. The importance of these professionals’ work is widely recognized. The aforementioned law defines the nature of a private investigator’s activities as non-criminal (with specific exceptions provided by the law itself) and established obligations, such as a formal contract and the preparation of a final report.

The Conflict of Legal Bases

Considering the LGPD scenario, where personal data must only be processed with proper legal backing, a critical question arises. Article 7 of the LGPD presents ten legal bases for data processing, including the regular exercise of a right. Generally, a private investigator’s inherent activities fit this description.

However, looking through the lens of the client hiring the services, they might attempt to rely on Legitimate Interest. Yet, Legitimate Interest is a legal basis that requires special care under the LGPD. A conflict may arise between the client’s alleged interest and the data subject’s (the investigated person) right to privacy.

Processing Sensitivity

Personal data processing involves every operation performed with data—including sensitive data (collection, access, reproduction, transmission, storage, etc.). If the law regulating the profession states that a private investigator habitually plans and executes the collection of data and information to clarify matters of private interest to the client, we may be facing an incompatibility between the LGPD and Law 13.432/17 regarding the subject’s right to privacy.

In any investigation, processing data (names, locations, photos, audio, license plates) is necessary for all stages. Thus, while one side holds the private interest of the person hiring the investigator, the other side holds the weight of an untouchable sphere of human existence: the right to privacy, now further protected by the LGPD.