Improvement of Data Transparency from the National Consumer Protection Information System (Sindec) (BR0066)

to enhance transparency on the records of Sindec’s demands through the regular disclosure of their data in an open format in the dados.gov.br Portal, in compliance with the principles of the Open Government Data policy. The disclosed content shall be used to the assessment of regulatory impact from the consumer’s perspective, to the monitoring of the effectiveness of measures implemented by all entities of the system, besides other public agencies and the market, and to the assessment of the quality of consumption relationships, which shall be provided through the formulation of a proposal for indicators by the agency.

Commitment 2.9. Improvement of data transparency from the National Consumer Protection Information System (Sindec)

Commitment Text: To enhance transparency on the records of Sindec’s demands through the regular disclosure of their data in an open format in the dados.gov.br Portal, in compliance with the principles of the Open Government Data policy. The disclosed content shall be used to the assessment of regulatory impact from the consumer’s perspective, to the monitoring of the effectiveness of measures implemented by all entities of the system, besides other public agencies and the market, and to the assessment of the quality of consumption relationships, which shall be provided through the formulation of a proposal for indicators by the agency.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Justice

Supporting institution: None

Start date: Not specified                          End date: 14 December 2014

Commitment Aim:

This commitment references Sindec, which integrates the processes and procedures related to consumer services in the 26 state and 232 municipal institutions responsible for consumer protection (Procons). The commitment sought to regularly disclose Sindec data in an open format on the dados.gov.br portal, in order to assess the system’s regulatory impact and monitor all of its entities.

Status

Midterm: Completed

The commitment was completed at the midterm review. Sindec data on consumer complaints are now disclosed regularly in open data format.^{[Note 50: Portal Brasileiro de Dados Abertos, Sindec, http://dados.gov.br/dataset?q=sindec. ]} The Ministry of Justice also included Sindec in the Institutional Plan for Open and Spatial Data.^{[Note 51: Ministry of Justice, Institutional Plan for Open and Spatial Data, 2014, http://justica.gov.br/dados-abertos/plano.pdf.]} In June 2014, the government launched Consumidor.gov.br in coordination with government, businesses, and citizens to address consumer rights complaints.

Did it open government?

Access to information: Major

The major contribution of this commitment to open government in Brazil was the implementation of advanced open data standards and open data governance for Sindec data. Previously, the data were not easily accessible for research and analysis. Now, they are used by civil society organisations, such as the Brazilian Institute for Consumer Protection (IDEC); government agencies, such as the Brazilian Court of Auditors; and various media organisations.^{[Note 52: Globo, “Procons realizaram quase 2,5 milhões de atendimentos em 2014,” 9 February 2015, http://glo.bo/2hBhuAX. ]} The media’s use of the data, in particular, illustrates the benefits of user-friendly and well-organised data for civil society. For example, Sindec data were used in widespread news coverage of the high level of consumer complaints in the telecommunications sector.^{[Note 53: Folha de São Paulo, “Setor de telecomunicações lidera queixas no Procon de SP em 2014,” 24 March 2014, http://bit.ly/1MpJLnq. ],[Note 54: Meio e Mensagem, “Telefonia é a mais reclamada nos Procons,” 9 February 2015, http://bit.ly/2h5Y0DO. ]} Citizens can now better identify which sectors and businesses are abusive to consumers, and businesses have incentives to find solutions to common consumer complaints and improve their services. However, its impact is long-term.

The launch of consumidor.gov.br has had more immediate impacts. It is a platform designed to reduce the reliance on judicial means for consumer complaints. The initiative is a virtual space for consumers and businesses to communicate directly with one another and resolve conflicts. According to the government’s self-assessment, the system has over 53,000 consumer claims, and is utilised by more than 74,000 people and 230 major private sector organisations. Additionally, four out of every five complaints are resolved within a week.^{[Note 55: Ministry of Justice, Balanço do consumidor.gov.br, 15 June 2015, http://bit.ly/2htlfXz.  ]} The new platform allows consumers to filter companies, based on their consumer satisfaction grades or consumer complaints, and download this information in open data format. According to the IDEC, “…the platform is a viable solution to individual problems. As a result, IDEC supports this alternative channel for consumer conflict resolution and acknowledges that widespread use of this service by Brazilian consumers would popularise the virtual platform as a quick and effective way of resolving conflicts.”^{[Note 56: IDEC, 2015, http://www.idec.org.br/especial/consumidor-gov.  ]}

It should be noted, however, that while the Sindec data release is a direct product of the commitment, the launch of consumidor.gov.br was not included in the action plan. Instead, it was a separate Ministry of Justice open data initiative. As such, the commitment, as defined in the action plan, is considered to have opened government in a major way, even though consumidor.gov.br has been an outstanding achievement for open government in Brazil.

Carried forward?

The commitment is not included in Brazil’s third action plan. If it is carried forward in the future, the IRM researcher recommends coming up with collaborative ways civil society and government can improve consumer relations.