AI Fellow's Probe Into European Facial Recognition in Brazilian Schools Prompts New Legislation

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A Pulitzer Center-supported investigation into the use of European-made facial recognition technology in Brazilian public schools has prompted a member of Brazil's House of Representatives to introduce federal legislation regulating the use of biometric systems in educational institutions.

On March 17, 2026, four days after the investigation was published, Representative Ana Paula Lima (PT-SC) introduced Bill No.1225/2026, which would establish national guidelines for the use of facial recognition and other biometric technologies in primary and secondary schools in Brazil. 

The proposed measure would also prohibit the automatic linking of algorithm-generated attendance records to welfare benefits. The bill's formal justification cites the investigation by name, describing it as the most documented case of the spread of facial recognition in Brazilian schools without any specific regulation.

The investigation, “Blocked in Europe, Deployed Abroad: The Facial Recognition System Monitoring Brazil’s Schoolchildren,” was published by Investigate Europe in partnership with the Pulitzer Center's AI Accountability Network. The report was also published with other media partners, including Núcleo Jornalismo, Folha de S.Paulo, and Agência Pública in Brazil, as well as Tech Policy Press, Público, EUobserver, and Denník N.

The reporting revealed that a facial recognition algorithm developed by the Slovak company Innovatrics has been deployed since 2023 in more than 1,700 public schools across the Brazilian state of Paraná, scanning up to 1 million children daily to automate attendance control. 

The investigation documented that comparable uses of the technology in European schools had previously been blocked by data protection authorities and courts in Sweden and France, which ruled that children cannot meaningfully consent to biometric surveillance in the classroom. In Brazil, where data protection enforcement is weaker, the system was rolled out at scale, raising concerns among privacy advocates about regulatory arbitrage by European technology companies.

Moreover, the investigation also found that the system's accuracy fell below its contractual threshold, with an independent study measuring an average accuracy rate of 91.1 percent, short of the 95 percent specified in the government's procurement agreement. 

Teachers reported frequent identification errors, and the reporting highlighted the potential risk that inaccurate attendance records could affect families' eligibility for Bolsa Família, Brazil's largest social welfare program, which conditions cash transfers in part on school attendance.

Under the proposed legislation, the use of facial recognition as the sole or primary means of taking attendance in schools would be prohibited. Furthermore, consent for biometric data collection would need to be obtained in a document separate from school enrollment. 

The bill gives a 180-day deadline for existing systems to be brought into compliance. Oversight responsibilities would be assigned to Brazil’s national data protection authority, the ANPD, and the Ministry of Education.

The investigation has had additional impact beyond Brazil. After the reporting revealed that Paraná's facial recognition system had been piloted at a private school in Lisbon, Portugal's data protection authority announced that it would open an official inquiry.