The rise of digital technologies, particularly generative AI, has drastically lowered the cost and technical barrier to producing and disseminating false or synthetic content. This intensifies concerns over electoral integrity, a challenge recognized as a major global risk by the World Economic Forum. ### The Intertwined Fate of Electoral Integrity and Privacy There's an intrinsic connection between the collection and processing of vast amounts of personal data and the creation and distribution of manipulative content, especially on social media and messaging apps. Strict data protection and privacy laws are thus crucial tools to mitigate the impact of such content, safeguarding public debate and political rights. While disinformation predates the internet, new technologies accelerate its generation and spread. Social media platforms, with their content recommendation algorithms, leverage personal data to create profiles for targeted advertising, including political propaganda – a technique known as "microtargeting." ### The Impact of Political Microtargeting and AI Political microtargeting, which uses deliberately decontextualized or inaccurate information, seeks to influence voters, encourage or discourage turnout, or raise funds. This practice, fueled by massive amounts of personal data, raises serious concerns about individual rights, as companies gain the ability to shape the content users see based on their habits, relationships, and political preferences. For disinformation actors, sophisticated tools like generative AI for "deepfakes" and programmed "bots" boost the effectiveness and scalability of microtargeting. AI-generated avatars and synthetic characters can simulate voters, influencers, or commentators, making it difficult for users to discern if public statements are technology-mediated. This hyper-personalization, combined with AI, can lead to what the UN's Independent Scientific Panel on AI Governance in 2023 termed "epistemic erosion" for democratic societies. ### Recommendations for Brazil's Electoral Safeguards Given the heightened concern in electoral contexts across Latin America, **Access Now**, **Data Privacy Brasil**, and the **EFF** propose key recommendations to protect electoral integrity through strong privacy and data protection measures: 1. **Strengthen Personal Data Protection Guarantees:** Emphasize the principles of necessity, purpose, and proportionality. * **Prohibit the processing of sensitive personal data**, including inferred data revealing political preferences, for targeting political content. Such processing is only legitimate with explicit, informed consent for strictly limited purposes. * Ensure data processing is limited to what is **strictly necessary** for the stated purpose. * **Prohibit adding users to instant messaging groups for political outreach** without prior, informed consent, except for lists of political party members. These organizations advocate for robust enforcement of personal data protection laws and public privacy policies as an efficient mechanism to improve democratic quality and reduce manipulation of public discourse in digital environments.