Lula Government to Mandate Algorithm Transparency for Ride-Hailing and Delivery App Workers

The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, plans to publish an infralegal rule next week that will force ride-hailing and delivery platforms to grant workers access to information about their proprietary algorithms. The measure is designed to address mounting complaints from workers who say they are subject to "undue and unjustified blockings" and have no formal mechanism to appeal platform decisions made by code.

The announcement was made by the Minister of the General Secretariat of the Presidency, Márcio Macêdo, on Monday. The Minister stated the regulation would be implemented via a decree or an ordinance (portaria), an administrative act that does not require Congressional approval.

The primary objective of the new rule is to give workers, including drivers for services like Uber and 99 and delivery personnel for companies such as iFood, greater clarity over the criteria used by the algorithms to distribute services or, crucially, to block their accounts. The new regulation is expected to establish concrete mechanisms for workers to appeal decisions and receive an explanation for why they were removed or penalized by the platform's automatic systems.

The push for greater algorithmic transparency is the result of long-running discussions with platform worker groups, who have lobbied the government for improved working conditions and greater autonomy.

The action is a separate measure from a previous government mandate, issued by the National Consumer Secretariat (Senacon), which focused on consumer rights and mandated that apps disclose the breakdown of the price paid by the user—showing how much went to the worker and how much was retained by the platform. By focusing exclusively on worker-platform disputes over operational decisions, the Lula government is escalating its regulatory pressure on the sector beyond existing consumer protection rules.

The details of the rule—specifically, which information the companies must disclose and how compliance will be enforced—have not yet been made public, as the final format (decree or ordinance) is still being determined. The publication of the infralegal rule next week will reveal the operational requirements placed on platforms, which could represent a significant shift in the balance of power between the technology companies and their contracted workforce in Brazil.

What it touches

This new regulation directly affects the operating models of major ride-hailing and delivery companies in Brazil, including local giant iFood and international players like Uber and 99 (owned by China's DiDi). Operational changes that require sharing details of proprietary algorithms or establishing costly new human-led appeals processes could increase regulatory and operational risk for these companies and their local subsidiaries.