Why EU–Brazil Data Adequacy Changes the Economics of Responsible AI

At GFT Technologies, we do not consider legal and ethical standards in AI necessarily as barriers to innovation. In the context of a risk-based approach, we see them actually as prerequisites for trust, resilience, and long-term value creation. This belief underpins our early commitment to the EU AI Pact and our broader approach to responsible AI governance. 

Responsible AI builds on proper protection of data and fundamental rights. The adequacy decisions confirm that the EU’s GDPR and Brazil’s LGPD provide essentially equivalent levels of protection for personal data.  

For organizations developing AI systems, this has practical consequence: Personal data used for training, testing, or validating AI models can now move between the EU and Brazil without additional cross-border transfer mechanisms. This does not remove the need for strong governance, transparency, or risk controls, but it does eliminate a layer of administrative complexity and thus creates new options for how organizations can build and scale data-driven systems in a responsible way.  

European Commissioner Michael McGrath emphasized that Brazil has built a “robust framework for safeguarding privacy and personal data, firmly anchored in the protection of fundamental rights.”  

This agreement boosts digital trade, supports businesses of all sizes, and sets a global benchmark showing that strong privacy protections can coexist with innovation and growth. Brazil offers European organizations a technologically mature, time zone-compatible nearshore environment. With adequacy in place for personal data transfers, it can now serve as a legally stable extension of European data and AI operations, without the elevated transfer risks associated with many other global delivery locations.  

With more than a decade of strong presence and continuous investment in Brazil, GFT is uniquely positioned to help clients navigate this new landscape with confidence. 

The EU–Brazil adequacy agreement unlocks tangible benefits for organizations operating across both regions: 

• Reduced Risk: Using processing options with acknowledged high EU Data Protection Standards reduces regulatory risk, shortens review cycles and supports quicker rollout of AI and data-driven solutions. 

• Lower operational friction: Eliminating the need for additional transfer mechanisms reduces administrative complexity in cross-border data sharing. 

• Scalable expertise: GFT’s established Brazilian teams are already supporting European clients and are prepared to handle increased demand enabled by the adequacy agreement.  

Together, these factors change the cost-benefit equation of responsible AI. Resources once consumed by managing transfer risk can be redirected toward improving model quality, strengthening oversight, and building trust into systems from the outset. 

 
These advantages match perfectly with GFT’s award-winning approach in Data Protection and Responsible AI, reflected in our AI Center of Excellence and our Guideline for Responsible AI. Innovation scales best when built on responsibility. 
 

The full EU-Brazil data adequacy agreement is available here.