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RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday signed into law new rules governing the use of social media, online video games and other digital services by children and adolescents.
Known as the “Adultization Bill” — shorthand in Brazil for its goal of protecting minors from premature exposure to adult content — or “Digital ECA,” for updating a 1990 statute that guarantees fundamental rights for children and adolescents, the law will take effect in 180 days.
In his speech, Lula said the measure represents a step toward Brazil’s digital sovereignty and emphasized that foreign companies are welcome as long as they comply with national laws. He criticized Big Tech’s lack of self-regulation, defended stronger protections for children and announced a provisional decree elevating the National Data Protection Authority into an autonomous agency.
“Freedom of expression is a nonnegotiable value, but it cannot serve as an excuse for committing crimes in the digital world,” Lula said.
The law obliges digital platforms to adopt safeguards, limits the collection of data from minors and sets tough penalties for violations. Companies are required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent children and adolescents from being exposed to illegal or inappropriate content, including sexual exploitation, harassment, violence, self-harm, gambling, deceptive advertising and other predatory practices.
Parental controls must be provided and set by default to the highest protection level, including time limits, blocking geolocation, restricting unauthorized adult contacts and controlling content recommendations.
Age verification is now mandatory. Until now, most platforms relied on self-declaration, with users merely confirming they were over 18. The new law bans that practice and requires stronger mechanisms, still to be defined by regulators, to prevent minors from accessing harmful content.
In addition, accounts of users under 16 must be linked to responsible adults, who will receive reports and be able to restrict interactions.
Noncompliance may result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s Brazilian revenue, capped at $10 million per violation, according to Stephanie Almeida, a lawyer at São Paulo-based Poliszezuk Advogados specializing in civil and corporate law.
Luiza Teixeira, a child protection specialist at UNICEF Brazil, described the law as “very robust, with high technical quality.” She acknowledged that digital technologies provide opportunities for learning, expression and connection but warned of serious risks as well.
According to João Victor Archegas, a lawyer and researcher at the Institute for Technology and Society in Rio de Janeiro, the new legislation is more specific than earlier frameworks such as the Statute of Children and Adolescents, the Brazilian Internet Bill of Rights and the General Data Protection Law.
“These are important legal frameworks in the country, because they address protection of fundamental rights online and of minors,” he said. “But there was still a lack of specific normative language on the use of social media and digital platforms by this audience.”
The bill was introduced in 2022 but gained momentum in August 2025 after influencer Felipe Bressanim Pereira, known as Felca, published a viral video exposing cases of child exploitation online. Public debate intensified following the arrest of influencer Hytalo Santos on Aug. 15, accused of producing and sharing sexual content involving minors.
Data from SaferNet Brasil, which monitors human rights violations online, highlights the scale of the problem. Between Jan. 1 and July 31, 2025, it recorded 76,997 reports, with 49,336 (64%) related to child sexual abuse and exploitation. After Felca’s video went viral, reports of child pornography more than doubled.
Teixeira warned that generative artificial intelligence has amplified risks by enabling the manipulation of harmless images of children into sexualized material that circulates openly on pedophile networks. “Contrary to common belief, it is not just on the dark web,” she said.
After the public outcry, the lower house approved the bill on Aug. 21 with minor amendments, and the Senate quickly confirmed it before sending it to the president. During debate, some lawmakers cautioned about potential overreach in internet regulation.
“The bill was seen by some as a ‘thermometer’ for broader regulation of Big Tech in Brazil,” Almeida said. “Opponents argue that the text, in its current form, could open precedents for restricting freedom of expression, while supporters stress that the proposal actually seeks to restore parents’ power to oversee their children’s digital lives.”
Ariel de Castro Alves, one of Brazil’s leading child rights experts, stressed that the law is only a first step. “The internet cannot be a lawless land,” he said.
Alves explained that companies will need systems for removing harmful content, technical teams dedicated to child safety, effective reporting channels, and investments in protective measures. They “can no longer simply profit from views, engagement and boosted content” that violate children’s rights.
He added that Brazil should also adopt a content rating system similar to that used for television and include safe internet education in school curricula.
Teixeira noted that the law “put Brazil on equal footing with other countries that already had a robust legal and political framework for protecting children and adolescents online, such as England,” but warned that the main challenge will be “to regulate and put it into practice.”
Archegas highlighted three key difficulties: developing effective age verification without creating digital exclusion or excessive surveillance, managing the economic burden of adapting global platforms to Brazil’s requirements, and ensuring enforcement so that the rules are more than symbolic.
