LGBTIQ+ organizations denounce the government's 'Hello Brete' platform for collecting sensitive data on sexual orientation and gender identity.

2026 April 23

A coalition of 23 organizations and 93 LGBTIQ+ activists filed a complaint with Costa Rica’s Ombudsman’s Office (Defensoria de los Habitantes) over the registration form of “Hello Brete”, a government-promoted English-training program run through the National Learning Institute (INA) in partnership with the private company Open English.

The form asks applicants to disclose sensitive personal information, including their sexual orientation, gender identity, migration status, ethnic background, and disability status. The complainants warned that this practice could violate the right to privacy and personal data protection under Law 8968, and raised particular alarm that the platform allows minors from age 15 to register and be asked about their sexual orientation and gender identity without a clear explanation of who processes the data or why.

The Defensoria opened an investigation and demanded that the INA justify why the questions are necessary for program access, clarify how the data is stored, accessed, and used, confirm that informed consent is obtained, and verify that its data-handling protocols are registered with the data protection agency (PRODHAB). The INA responded that the questions are not mandatory and reflect institutional commitments to equality and diversity.

News articles in Spanish:

• Organizaciones LGTBIQ+ denuncian ante Defensoria recoleccion de datos sensibles en plataforma “Hello Brete” - El Mundo CR
• Defensoria pide al INA aclarar pregunta sobre orientacion sexual en registro de ‘Hello Brete’ - Teletica
• 23 organizaciones piden a la Defensoria investigar los datos sensibles solicitados en plataforma Hello Brete - La Nacion
• 23 grupos denuncian ante la Defensoria la recoleccion de datos sensibles en plataforma “Hello Brete” - La Republica