Concern about reputation is not new, but the he impact of damage has become much greater and faster with the digital age. A negative event that could once be contained can now spread in minutes and destroy a reputation built up over decades. For this reason, reputational risks are now equated with asset risks in terms of relevance, with the potential to jeopardize the continuity of a business.
Reputation is now considered a valuable asset for the company.
Factors that made the risk tangible
- Measurable financial impacts:
- Data leakage costs: reputational damage generates direct and significant financial costs. An IBM study revealed that the average cost of a data leak in Brazil is approximately R$ 6 million per incident. In an extreme case, the leakage of data from the Facebook for political purposes resulted in a loss of U$35 billion in market value, exemplifying concrete and incalculable financial damage.
- Loss of business: When a data incident exposes a company's non-compliance with the law, the news spreads quickly. As a consequence, customers and partners feel that trust has been broken, tend to seek out competition.
- Cost of non-compliance: the cost of not complying with the LGPD is high, implying not only sanctions and legal proceedings, but also the loss of reputation. As a result, executives have come to see legal adequacy and compliance as an investment to protect their assets and reputation, and no longer as a cost.
- Tightening of legislation:
- General Data Protection Law (LGPD): The LGPD has not only established administrative sanctions, it has created a new paradigm of responsibility. Punishments for violating its obligations include fines of up to 2% of turnover (limited to R$ 50 million), data blocking and even the prohibition of processing activities. The mere failure to comply with the law, even before an incident, already exposes the company to legal proceedings e severe damage its image in the market.
- Anti-Corruption Law: The Clean Company Act (Law No. 12,846/2013) also signaled institutional changes, demanding effective governance programs to avoid penalties and reputational damage. Scandals such as the Lava Jato, Carne Fraca and Volkswagen's emissions showed that the lack of compliance leads to serious consequences, with directors being arrested.
- Digital acceleration and public exposure:
- Speed of information: With the internet and social networks, the speed with which information is disseminated is “frighteningly fast”. In a world where reputational crises spread faster than financial results, image management has become a strategic pillar.
- Perception of negligence: an incident involving personal data is aggravated if it stems from a failure to comply with basic obligations under the LGPD, such as adopting security measures. The failure is interpreted not as an accident, but as negligence in complying with the legal duty to protect personal data, This deepens the reputational damage. Hiding information or taking too long to speak up can turn a technical error into a major crisis.
- Formalization of risk management:
- Compliance as protection: a compliance and integrity and robust privacy governance is the “best corporate insurance”, because it protects against risks and strengthens the company's image. Major downfalls of CEOs and companies are often linked to failures in compliance or social and environmental responsibility.
- Reduction of sanctions: the legislation itself encourages good governance. The Office of the Comptroller General (CGU), for example, offers fine reduction for companies that have integrity programs. Similarly, the ANPD considers the existence of governance mechanisms when dosing sanctions, which translates the value of comply.
In short, the reputational risk materializes through direct financial costs, The risk of a breach of the law, severe legal sanctions and immediate exposure in the digital age. Managing this risk, through compliance programs and especially suitability complete LGPD obligations, This is no longer a formality, but a strategic need for the survival and sustainable growth of organizations.
