As of March 17, 2026, Law No. 15,211\/2025 entered into force in Brazil, known as the \u201cEstatuto da Crian\u00e7a e do Adolescente Digital\u201d (\u201cECA Digital\u201d). The law establishes a comprehensive framework aimed at protecting children and adolescents in digital environments, aligning with international regulatory trends on online safety, personal data protection, and responsible platform design.<\/p>\n
One of the most notable aspects of the ECA Digital is its broad scope of application. The law applies to any information technology product or service directed at children and adolescents in Brazil, as well as those that may be accessed by them, regardless of their place of development, manufacture, offering, commercialization, or operation.<\/p>\n
Regarding its obligations, the law establishes a robust set of duties for digital service providers, including: (i) the implementation of reliable age verification mechanisms to restrict access to inappropriate content for individuals under 18 years of age; (ii) the prohibition of account creation by minors on platforms offering pornographic content; (iii) the obligation to provide clear and accessible information to parents, guardians, children, and adolescents regarding digital risks and safety measures; (iv) the prohibition of monetization mechanisms such as loot boxes in video games aimed at minors or accessible to them based on age classification; (v) restrictions on the use of profiling techniques for targeted advertising directed at children and adolescents; (vi) the requirement to link accounts of users under 16 years of age to those of their parents or legal guardians; and (vii) the obligation to remove and report to competent authorities any content indicating child sexual exploitation or abuse, kidnapping, or incitement.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the law introduces enhanced transparency obligations for application providers with a significant base of minor users. In particular, those with more than one million registered users in this group must prepare and publish semiannual reports in Portuguese, detailing available complaint channels, the number of complaints received, and the moderation measures adopted.<\/p>\n
Finally, the law provides that the authority responsible for overseeing and enforcing the regime will be the Autoridade Nacional de Prote\u00e7\u00e3o de Dados (ANPD), which will be empowered to issue supplementary regulations and monitor compliance. In this regard, the ECA Digital reinforces the need for a safer and more transparent digital environment, aimed at effectively protecting the rights of children and adolescents against the risks inherent to the digital ecosystem.<\/p>\n